Free – High Speed! Reunion
by SmallerSocksx
Summary: Aki Yazaki has always loved swimming ever since she was a little girl. Now in High School her chance to be part of something big re-ignites her love for swimming. Follow Aki and the Iwatobi Team on their swimming adventure.
1. Starting Block of Reunions - Part 1

_**Free –**__**High**__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 1: Starting Block of Reunion **_

Have you ever felt like you wanted to return to a point in your life where you truly felt free? Where ignorance is bliss… For me personally I'd like to return to my Grade school days where I was in a swimming club with my friends and classmates and where I would always get to see that one person swim… His name was Haruka Nanase.

I don't know why but whenever you could see him swim it felt like he was in a completely different world where he was one with the water… But like all things it came to an end… even though we were always in the same class we would only talk a few times however things changed their friend Rin left for Australia and Nagisa ended up in a different middle school. However, I did still talk to Makoto Tachibana who spent most of his time with Haruka.

Time flew by and before I knew it, I was in my second year of high school. Oh I forgot to introduce myself my name is Aki Yazaki.

It was a normal morning and I was getting ready for school, I tied my long brown hair into a loose braid and I wore the Iwatobi High School uniform, which consisted of a light brown skirt, white shirt with green bow tie, a blue long sleeved jumper, dark gray unbuttoned blazer, black stockings and black shoes.

"Aki! Breakfast is ready!" a woman shouted

"Coming" I replied that was my mother, Ikumi Yazaki. I exit out of my bedroom and head down stairs to the kitchen where my mother and father were sitting and eating breakfast I mainly resemble my mother who has shoulder length brown hair tied into a side ponytail and was wearing this morning a long sleeved white shirt with beige pants with a navy apron. My father looked up "Good morning, Aki!"

"Morning Dad!" I replied it looked like today's breakfast was egg and toast I grabbed a slice of toast since I had to be in school early today for class duty it was only the second day of term and yet I felt excited because…

"Aren't you gonna sit down and eat?" my father asked with a confused look on his face

"I have class duty! I've gotta go!" I replied, gave him a kiss on the cheek and gave a high five to my mother, and went to put my shoes on.

"See you later, Aki!" I turned to see my brother coming down the stairs still in his pyjamas

"You better hurry up, Shota! Otherwise you'll be late!" I replied and stood up with my bag he then reached the bottom and waved his hand.

"Yeah, yeah" he said lazily and then I headed out the door to school and I grabbed my bike and cycled off to school. What I love most about the place I live is that when I cycle by I can feel the sea breeze splash against me like the tide. The water droplets flowing in the air and the scenery is simply breath taking especially during summer time when the sun reflected against the sea is possibly the most beautiful thing you could see that's why I prefer to ride my bike to school rather than take the train and plus before I know it I'm already at school.

This year, I'm in a class with Makoto and Haruka it's been a while since I've been in a class with them and I hope this year I'll get to talk more with them. Although come to think of it, Haruka wasn't in school yesterday I hope that he at least comes in today. I was lost in thought at the shoe lockers when it occurred to me that I had better hurry up and get to class! Once I arrived the classroom was filled with a few students I placed my bag on my desk with was the second to last desk by the window on the left side of the classroom and then went to clean the blackboard before Ms. Amakata, our homeroom teacher arrived. She is nice but people say that she had this failed dream in Tokyo and that teaching was her backup career but who cares, the past is the past, the present is now!

As I finished my job, the classroom began to overflow with the rest of my classmates, I went and sat at my desk, and then I noticed that someone was sitting behind me today. Just as I was about to turn around Ms. Amakata entered the classroom and began taking the register she started reciting everyone's names. I always was the last person on the register in previous years so I would daydream till my name was called out but today "Miss Haruka Nanase" I clearly heard the common mistake that people made with Haruka-san's name.

"Um, Miss! Haruka's a guy" a boy to the left of me said and then I turned around to realize that right behind me were Makoto Tachibana and Haruka Nanase! I realize I sounded stupid to be shocked but I hadn't technically been in the same class as these two since Elementary School I would just pass them in the hall or take out rubbish with them. That's all. However, after Makoto's comment about Haruka being a boy, everyone in the class had a little laugh and after a couple of lectures before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

Haruka and Makoto were already out the classroom the moment the bell rung and I already had a lunch prepared so I thought I would go outside for some fresh air and a place to sit and eat. The school shop was already crowded by the time I was outside as I was walking a blonde boy bumped into me and it seemed like he was in a hurry "Sorry!" he shouted as he stumbled forward and kept running…for some reason I felt like I had seen him before.

I kept walking to the grass area I walked past two first-year girls I normally wouldn't pay attention to them but one of them had beautiful scarlet hair that felt familiar…and as I kept walking I couldn't help but feel like she was staring back at me.


	2. Starting Block of Reunions - Part 2

_**Free –**__**High**__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 2: Starting Block of Reunion Part 2**_

Lunchtime went by pretty fast next thing I knew the day was over however by the shoe lockers I could see Haruka with Makoto (which was perfectly natural) but this time they were with a blonde boy and come to think of it I recognise him from somewhere. I'm getting the feeling that this is going to bug me but for now I need to go home I head out of school and collected my bike and headed back home.

When I got home, I could see that Dad was busy in his workshop, my father works as a carpenter his main work is helping to produce boats. "I'm home," I shouted as I pop my head around the door

"Welcome home, Aki! How was school?" My father replied

"It was alright!" I answered and headed inside my mother was working on the laundry and I decided to help

"How was your day, Aki?" my mother asked

"It was alright! By the way when it Sho-nii supposed to be home?" I asked

"He'll be home a bit late he said so we'll eat dinner without him"

"What's he doing to make him come home late?" I asked

"He's doing swim practise and then he has to go visit his tutor"

The reason my brother is doing swim practise is because he is part of the local University's swim team and then he needs help in some of his subjects so he has to have a tutor. This is what happens when you don't focus on your education in my opinion plus my brother can have a tendency to be irresponsible and self-important. He's been like that since we were kids!

Once we finished the laundry, I helped make dinner, which was a simple curry dish and we made an extra one for Shota to warm up and eat later. Even though he is hopeless he's still family and at he at least knows how to operate a microwave! Once I finished dinner, I was upstairs in my bedroom doing my homework when my cell phone went off. I looked at the caller ID it was Sho-nii and I answered

"Aki did you hear!?" Was the first thing yelled down the phone

"Sho-nii calm down and what are you talking about?" I yelled back

"Some kids from your school were trespassing at your old swim club!"

"You expected me to know this? And wait what were you even doing by there?!"

"My tutor couldn't make today's session so I was heading home and saw three boys running out and they used to be in the swim club you know! Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa!" My eyes widened when my brother recited those names! What were they even doing there? At this time of night?

"I gotta go, Aki! I'll see you later!" My brother echoed

"Wait-"But he had already hung up…What were those 3 doing there? I can talk to them in the morning but for now, I finished my homework and went to bed.

* * *

It was already morning, I woke up extra early today, packed my bag, made my lunch and breakfast and wrote a quick note for my parents so they would know where I was and headed out on my bike. All I wanted to know was what happened however when I got to school, Makoto and Haruka arrived a little late and I probably couldn't talk to them till lunch however when lunch started they were called to the faculty office along with Nagisa so I decided to eat my lunch in the classroom quickly and catch up to them!

Once I finished and headed to the faculty office I saw Makoto and Nagisa in the hallway I wanted to make sure they didn't get away this time so I ran and shouted "I found you!" they turned around surprised to see me however a smile lit up on Nagisa's face

"Hey Mako-chan look its Zaki-chan!" He shouted excitedly

"Don't "Zaki-chan" me! My brother called me last night and told me you two were trespassing at the old swim club so someone better tell me what's going on!" I shouted

"W-Wait a second! Calm down! We'll explain!" Makoto said defensively obviously confused as to why I am so angry and frankly I don't know why I'm so angry either

They said they would explain on the way to Haruka's house after school as we were walking…

"Rin challenged Haruka to a race! No wait! When did he get back from Australia more importantly!?" I was confused, Rin left for Australia when we were all in elementary school and he was really close to all three of them so what caused this attitude change?

"It was really surprising to see Rin-chan act that way and challenged Haru-chan to a race! Thankfully the pool was empty!" Nagisa exclaimed

We were all so caught up in the conversation that we didn't even notice that we reached our destination but there was someone there…it was that girl from yesterday with the beautiful scarlet hair…now I remember her she's Rin's little sister, Gou!

* * *

"So you chose Iwatobi High School, Gou-chan?" Nagisa asked….It has been a long time and I haven't seen Gou since we were kids but she has become really pretty.

"Don't call me Gou! Everybody calls me Kou." Gou said rather annoyed

"Huh? Why? Your name is Gou, like the Sengoku warlord Azai Nagamasa's third daughter, right?" Nagisa asked and to be fair I was a little curious too

"Yeah…But the typical reading is Kou, so call me that. That would be a nice thing to do" Gou argued

Makoto and I could see that this clearly wasn't going to end well so one of us had to interject, I ended up nudging Makoto with my elbow to say something…

"Uh so putting that stuff aside…" Makoto tried to say

"That _stuff_?!" Gou said angrily

"What were you doing at Haruka-san's house?" I asked

When I asked that question Gou's face suddenly changed expressions from an angry one to a nervous one "Oh…" she began and averted her gaze from me to the right "I wanted to ask him about my brother" she finally replied

"So Rin really is back from Australia?" Makoto asked

"He returned last month and he's attending Samezuka Academy now. It's a boarding school so he hasn't come home." Gou answered.

"Samezuka?" I uttered if I recall Samezuka is a prestigious all-boys boarding school and is most famous for their swim team, which is dubbed….

"The swimming powerhouse?" Makoto finished my line of thought

* * *

Nagisa and Makoto went to visit Haruka's house afterwards so I thought I would walk Gou to the train station however, as we were walking, I couldn't help but feel tense so I thought I should break the ice… "So G-Kou-chan how have you been? I haven't seen you since our days back at the swim club." I asked

"I've been a bit lonely without my brother but I guess things have been okay! So how have things been between you and Haruka-senpai?" She asked

"Between me and Haruka?" I asked dumbfounded

"Oh come on Zaki-senpai! I know you've had a crush on him since elementary school!" she exclaimed with a slight sparkle in her eye but the moment she said that I could feel my face turn red I had to change the topic and fast!

"Oh yeah! Have you made any friends at school yet?" I asked in a panicked frenzy

"Why are you avoiding the question?" she asked me with suspicion

"I'm not!"I said defensively and I noticed we arrived at the train station and so did Gou

"Oh darn! There's my train! I've gotta go but let's finish the conversation another time!" she waved as she ran towards the train and continued waving once she got on. I waved back as the train left…She is a nice girl

I looked at the ocean and noticed it was already sunset….I better get home. I wonder what Makoto and Nagisa are doing with Haruka-san right now

I jumped on my bike and rode home…

* * *

_Sorry if it's seemed rushed I hope you like it! I'm sorry for the long gap I've just had my mock exams at school and had panic attacks of failing. (On the bright side I got an A in History!)_


	3. Memories of the Distance - Part 1

_**Free –**__**High**__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 3: Memories in the Distance**_

Two days….Two days in a row! Those three have been called to the Faculty Office for trespassing! What's next they get called in for robbing a bank?! I tapped my foot impatiently until the door finally slid open revealing the three of them and suddenly Makoto got a nervous expression on his face clearly catching on to the fact that I was annoyed however Nagisa just let out a sigh "Miss Ama-chan wasn't much help." I let out a sigh and decided not to yell at them today and instead we all just walked down the hall to the shoe lockers

"I wonder how that fish saying goes…." Makoto muttered I looked up at him confused as to why he was thinking about it and then he turned "Haru do you know?" and then Makoto was surprised and I turned around too only to see Haruka-san had disappeared

"Haru-chan's over there," Nagisa noted and we turned to the shoe lockers to see Haruka leaving school early! Geez he's already in trouble with the teachers for all the trespassing business now he'll get in even more trouble for cutting class then again Makoto will probably just tell Miss Amakata that he went home sick.

"When did that happen?" Makoto asked lowering his head in disappointment and then we heard someone coming from behind

"Ah, Gou-chan!" Nagisa shouted

"I told you to call me Kou!" Gou-chan replied

"Does it really matter?" Nagisa asked and to be fair I actually agreed I think Gou is a cute name

"It matters! I'm Kou!" She argued

"Gou." He replied

"Kou!"

"Gou"

"Kou!"

"Kou." Nagisa said

"Gou! Damn you!" Gou exclaimed realizing her mistake and listening to those to argue was like listening to five-years olds argue however, I had to admit I didn't think Nagisa could come up with a trick like that.

* * *

We all then walked to the stairway leading to the roof "So you were able to see my brother?" Gou asked

"Yeah about that…Rin-chan's so mean!" Nagisa replied "We haven't seen each other in four years! And the first thing he does is challenge Haru-chan to a race. He completely ignored me and Makoto. We didn't get a chance to talk about anything." Nagisa exclaimed

"Have you heard anything from Rin, Kou-chan?" Makoto asked however, she shook her head

"I've sent him e-mails and called his cell without any luck. I even called his dorm number and nobody picked up" She replied

"How come Rin-san's changed so much?" I asked

"Yeah, did something happen in Australia?" Nagisa followed up yet Gou's eyes and face lowered to the floor and I could understand why I'd be worried too if it were my brother

"I don't know. I was hoping that he'd open up after meeting you guys." she finally answered

"Kou-chan…" I muttered in concern then Makoto looked up in surprise to her answer

"Are you responsible for Rin showing up at the swimming club?" he asked and then her reaction clearly showed she was guilty

"I wouldn't say that I was responsible…I was just trying to help. I happened to overhear your conversation, so I sent him a message. But he never replied" she answered

"Well at least you know he reads your messages if he ended up going to the swim club" I said trying to cheer G-Kou up a little, I'm still struggling to call her "Kou" after all that time I spent calling her "Gou".

"That's why you went to Haru's place yesterday?" Makoto deduced

"Yes, I was hoping he might have some answers." Gou replied

"Hey, I have a great idea!" Nagisa shouted

"Nagisa! There's no need to shout!" I scolded him besides we don't want anyone to eavesdrop on our conversation that's probably how Gou-chan overheard them going to the swimming club

"Let's start a swimming club!" Clearly ignoring what I just said to him but I couldn't help but interested in the idea even Gou came closer to hear what Nagisa had to say and Makoto looked a little confused by the prospect

"Then we can see Rin-chan at tournaments." He continued

"Uh, I'm not sure Haru will be on board with that." Makoto replied

* * *

_**After school**_

Whilst Gou-chan and I sat in the living room waiting for Makoto and Nagisa to get Haruka out of the bath we could hear shouting and Nagisa shouting "Yay" clearly Haruka said yes but even so Nagisa really needs to learn to be quiet!

Then we could hear them coming back to the living room and Haruka…was in a swimsuit I could feel my cheeks turn red and I quickly averted my eyes whilst Gou-chan turned away covering her eyes whilst Haruka dried himself off with a towel oblivious to the fact that Gou and I might feel a little bit uncomfortable.

"Are you sure about this? We don't want to be doing this by ourselves; you're expected to the club." Makoto asked breaking the silence

"I know" he replied

I looked over in the corner of my eye and I could see Gou exercising self-control of trying not to look and to be fair I think I'm trying to do the same. That's when she gave in to temptation and peeked through her fingers and began to ogle at _them_ and to be fair it's something that Gou does with most men since Gou began to look I guess it wouldn't hurt to turn around…

"Oh yeah. Haru wasn't with us the other day. This is Rin-chan's sister and you remember Zaki-chan from the swimming club?" Nagisa explained

"H-hello. It's been a long time." Gou greeted

"Long time no see, Haruka-san. We're in the same class" I greeted him

"…Kou Matsuoka and Aki Yazaki, right?" He asked, the moment he said Kou and huge smile had crept on to Gou-chan's face in fact I was kind of relieved he remembered my name…then again we are in same class. Wait! Why do I feel so happy it's just a coincidence he happened to remember!

"Yes! I'm sorry about what my brother did yesterday" she replied

"Don't sweat it." He answered whilst he put a jacket on and an apron and walked towards the kitchen

"Oh, if you're making tea, I have some squid to go with it" Makoto shouted

"What? Wouldn't chocolate be better?" Nagisa asked

"We'll compromise and have mackerel." Haruka answered and I couldn't help but think he sounded like a parent

"That's not a compromise! I'll give you a hand. Is this okay?" Nagisa kept chatting away to Haruka then I noticed a small crystal like trophy sat next to the corner of the door

"This is…" I muttered

"That's the trophy the four of us won as kids. Rin told us he no longer needed it" Makoto explained whilst Gou-chan picked up the photo lying next to it. I was a picture of Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin as kids wearing medals and Rin proudly holding the trophy with a huge smile on his face…What happened to that smile? I wondered

"Actually, Haru's the sole exception in this photo" Makoto muttered, came, and sat closer to us I could see Nagisa standing behind and he kneeled down holding a tray with tea cups

"Haru-chan's always smiling on the inside." Nagisa said proudly whilst Gou giggled

"You make him sound like a bad person!" Her laughter was contagious and before we knew it we all began smiling

"Oh so this is the first time Rin's come back to Japan since he's left?" Makoto asked

"Huh? He's came back every year for New Year's." Gou replied

"Really?!" Nagisa and I said in unison

"That's mean." Nagisa muttered

* * *

I might keep doing this and splitting episodes into two parts sorry if this is terrible I just haven't had time to do anything because of school but I'm on half term so I may do a chapter or two.


	4. Memories of the Distance - Part 2

_**Free –**__**High **__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 4: Memories in the Distance Part 2**_

"I'm Rin Matsuoka's sister. I'm here to see my brother." Gou said to the man at the front desk and you're probably wondering what we're doing here at Samezuka Academy believe me I don't know the answer to that either

* * *

_**One Hour Before**_

I was walking down the hall when I could hear a familiar voice shouting "Zaki-senpai!" I turned around to see Gou waving and running up to me and I stopped and waited for her

"Oh, Kou-chan is something wrong?" I asked

"Are you doing anything right now?!" She asked very forcefully I was caught a little of guard

"Er, no. Why do you need me for something" I replied and I felt a very bad feeling when I saw a glitter form in her eyes and she grabbed my arm and pulled me forward

"Good then come with me!" She shouted as she dragged me through the hallway

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see!"

"Seriously! Kou-chan! Where?!" I screamed

* * *

_**Present**_

The fact that she was questioning me so much probably should have raised an alarm…Oh well I'm here now anyway.

"Oh it looks like Matsuoka isn't back yet." He replied

"Really?" Gou asked she turned to me with a somewhat sad expression on her face as we exited the building. I felt bad for her she looked like she really wanted to see Rin-san then I had an idea

"Maybe Rin-san's at the swimming club practise if we look for a map maybe we can visit the pool to see!" I said to her trying to maintain Gou's positivity. Her face then lit up and we searched for a map of the campus and located where the pool was and we both ran all the way there.

Once we entered the waiting area, the sight of many handsome high school boys wearing swimsuits greeted us. "Excuse us…" we muttered as we slowly walked further inside however Gou was completely hypnotised by the sight of all the Samezuka boys but this sight only helped confirm why Samezuka Academy is called "the Swimming Powerhouse" I walked closer towards the window to see if I could find Rin-san whilst Gou was probably still in awe over the sight. I scanned the whole pool area and I couldn't see Rin-san but I couldn't help but feel like that I was not only being stared at but they probably think I'm fawning over the sight of muscles as well…

"Hey so it's you." I heard someone say and turned around to see a tall young man with red hair talking to Gou-chan and I walked back over to her. "The one who's looking for her big brother?" he asked

"Oh, yes." She answered however, his facial expression changed all of a sudden

"Hold on. You know…You're pretty cute" with a little blush coming onto his cheeks I can't believe he just said something like that out loud and I'm not even sure how to react more importantly how will Gou…

"Thank you. I'm looking for Rin Matsuoka, my brother" She replied with a cheerful tone to her voice then again I expect nothing less of Gou

"Matsuoka? There's nobody named Matsuoka on the team" He replied the moment he said that Gou and I looked at each other with both confusion and surprise in our faces

Why wasn't Rin-san a member of the swim team? It just didn't make any sense

Afterwards Gou and I walked to the train station and headed our separate ways.

* * *

Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa headed to the faculty office (again) thankfully they weren't in trouble it was to see if the Swim Club had been approved and I was waiting outside on the edge of my seat and when they came out with Miss Ama-chan I thought it was good news and they told me to follow them.

When we reached our destination…it was anything _but_ good I looked in horror at the school's pool covered in nothing more than weeds and overgrown plants on the sides as well! When was the last time anyone used this pool?!

"Wow so much nature…" Nagisa muttered

"That might be an understatement…" I replied

"Are you saying that…" Makoto asked

"Yes, you must restore this pool to a usable state." Miss Ama-chan said calmly and bluntly just looking at that pool I didn't know where to begin. Haruka, Makoto and I slowly backed away but before we could Nagisa and Miss Ama-chan grabbed their wrists and I froze as they slowly turned around…

"You're not allowed to run away." Nagisa said with an eerie smile on his face

"You said you were willing to do anything." Miss Ama-chan said for someone so calm and sweet she could also be a force not to be beckoned with…

The boys decided to do the heavy work by pulling the weeds out of the pool and dealing with the cracks whilst I dealt with some of the overgrown plants by the fence.

We needed proper tools to help restore the pool and since tomorrow was Sunday, they decided to head to the tool store "Dolphin". Whilst at home I tried designing some posters to recruit, new members and we would show our designs off at school.

The next day, Nagisa showed us, his which was certainly unique with the bright use of colour meanwhile Haruka-san's poster, was very vivid that's probably the best way to phrase it…to the point the Art Club attempted to kidnap him…

On the way to the pool I had met up with Gou-chan who was holding a plastic bag and we headed there together "Wow it's all cleaned up" Gou exclaimed

"Great job you guys! Keep up the hard work!" I shouted hopefully keeping them motivated

"Ah! Are you here to help us, Gou-chan and Zaki-chan?" Nagisa asked

"I told you to call me Kou! Otherwise, you don't get any of this" Gou-chan scolded

"What? You can't be serious!" Nagisa exclaimed

"What do you need us to do?" I shouted back and until school ended Gou and I dealt with the plants near the fence and in the end we finally decided to pick the poster I designed and the next day whilst Nagisa made pitches to other students I helped put up posters all over the school.

* * *

_**After School **_

I got my tracksuit on and decided to help with the pool the more hands helping the better right? I painted one wall whilst Nagisa and Haruka did the other. Across from me Makoto was painting the fence and talking to Gou…probably about Rin-san or Haruka-san then again I'm still questioning why Rin didn't join the swim team…it didn't make any sense.

That's when I overheard Makoto say "I mean, he just raced Haru and…" Makoto muttered they must be on about Rin-san. Nagisa mentioned something about Rin-san challenging Haruka-san to a race but nothing was mentioned after that like who won or what happened next…

"I mean when they raced that night…" Makoto then went on to describe what happened when they snuck into Samezuka, which resulted in a race between Haruka-san and Rin-san and that…,and that…Rin-san won.

"My brother won?!" Gou shouted and I stopped painting and walked over

"So Rin-san really won?" I asked and they turned to see me "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop!"

"Yeah, didn't Rin tell you?" Makoto asked

"He didn't respond, so I thought he was upset about losing." She muttered

"He didn't seem very happy about winning." Makoto replied

"Why wouldn't he be happy about winning? Hasn't he always been determined to beat Haruka-san since Elementary School?" I asked

"In fact, I'd say that Haru was more…" Makoto went onto to describe the scene at the pool when Haruka-san "congratulated" Rin-san who only got angry…but why? It doesn't make any sense!

"That was when we were found by a teacher who heard all the noise." Makoto explained

"I don't get why he would say that after losing." Gou stated and then Makoto smiled

"Haru just wanted to swim. He's back to his old self" Makoto stated

"Back to his old self" I muttered and turned to look at Haruka-san and Nagisa…

"Haru was never one to care about winning or improving his time." Makoto continued

"Will my brother also go back to his old self?" Gou muttered under her breath, "We still need one more member, right?" Gou asked, "Please let me join!" she pounced the moment she said that causing Makoto and I to both be surprised. "You're the only ones who can change my brother. If you're willing to have me, I can serve as your manager and help out!"

"Me too!" they both looked at me "I wouldn't be here if I didn't care and I'll gladly help Kou-chan as a manager as well!"

"Ooh, ooh. What's going on?" Nagisa asked

"Kou-chan and Zaki-chan offered to join the swim club!" Makoto answered as we turned to look at Nagisa

"What? Really?!" Nagisa replied almost shocked by our offer "That means the swim club is officially open for business! Yay!" as usual Nagisa was cheerful but also loud!

* * *

_**Later that day…**_

It was nighttime and we actually got a lot done with the pool! I had just finished my dinner and was doing my homework in my room and I changed into something more comfortable which was a simple pink t-shirt with white spots and beige pants and black socks with a black jacket. I also decided to wear my hair in a small braid. Suddenly I got a text of my brother:

"_Did you hear about the old swim club being knocked down? Could you do me a favour and go down there to say goodbye for the both of us. I know it sounds stupid but you loved that place too!"_

_Shota_

He was right though…If it was going to be torn down I should at least say goodbye. I ran down downstairs and got my shoes, my mum ran out the kitchen "Aki where are you going?"

"To say goodbye to old swim club" I replied as I ran out the door, grabbed my bike, and peddled there as fast as I could and when I arrived I could see someone. It was Makoto! "Makoto-san?!"

He turned and looked at me in surprise "Zaki-chan! What are you doing here?" he asked

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" I replied as I got off my bike

"I came here to say goodbye…" He trailed off as he walked a little closer to the building

"Me too." As I lowered my eyes and walked closer

"Hurts, right?" We both looked at each other in surprise and turned around to see a man with golden hair and brown red eyes riding a…a pizza delivery vehicle. "It's not easy to watch as your memories are destroyed. Were you two lovebirds part of this club? Well you can't go against the times," He asked

"Lovebirds?" I muttered in confusion

"W-We're not a couple! We're just friends!" Makoto stuttered in confusion waving his hands in the air but the man continued anyway…

"It's sad." I felt like we knew him from somewhere I could see it in Makoto's face and then we remembered

"Wait are you…" Makoto trailed and then it hit me like a flash of lightning

"Coach Sasabe?!" We said in unison and he tilted his head in confusion

"It's Makoto and Aki! Makoto Tachibana and Aki Yazaki!" Makoto explained and slightly over excited and in the Coach Sasabe recognised us

"You got real big, Makoto! And you got really pretty, Aki!" he said as he cackled away

"It's been too long, Coach Sasabe" I replied

"Well I work as a pizza deliveryman now." Coach Sasabe said as he patted his vehicle "Did you two come here for one last glimpse?"

"Is that why you're here?" Makoto asked

"I thought I'd drop by on my way back from a delivery. Are the other boys doing well?" He asked

"Yes. Zaki-chan and I go to the same school as Haru and Nagisa" Makoto replied

"Are you still friends with Rin?" Coach Sasabe asked

"Yes…" Makoto reluctantly answered

"He goes to a different school though" I finished for him

"Rin's back from Australia, right?" He continued asking, "He looked pretty glum when I last saw him, so I was a little worried"

"Glum?" Makoto muttered

"Haruka didn't mention it?" He asked in surprise, "I think it was during the winter of your first year in middle school. I was closing down the place for the end of the year and Haruka and Rin showed up. Apparently, they ran into each other while Rin was back home." Shock had filled our faces. Why didn't Haruka mention any of this?!

"Did they have a race?" Makoto asked in a desperate tone

"That's right. And Haruka won easily. Rin was pretty upset about it. Can't blame him. He went to a swimming school abroad, and it didn't make a difference. Is something wrong?" Just upon hearing, that story I couldn't help but feel sorry for Rin-san and that might explain why Rin-san felt so angry to winning against Haruka-san. Who hadn't practiced since middle school and was rusty at swimming…Haruka-san wasn't giving that race his all.

"No." I replied and I looked at Makoto who looked just as sad, confused and shocked as I was afterwards Coach Sasabe had another delivery to make and left. Then Makoto and I went our separate ways.

As I cycled home everything Coach Sasabe told us kept going through my head, I decided to stop, and look at the sea with the beautiful night sky reflected in it…I had so many questions but with no answers and it was driving me insane but for now I need to focus! Focus on getting this swim team together with everyone.

* * *

_**The following day…**_

"Okay. Here's to the establishment of the new swim club!" Miss Ama-chan cheered and we all couldn't contain how happy we were and none of us could stop smiling

"Cheers" We all shouted and raised our cups

"It's not warm enough to start swimming, but we filled the pool as a test run." Miss Ama-chan explained as some of us drank our orange juice, "All that's left is to toss these in together"

"There!" we all said in unison as we each tossed that into the pool

"The swim club is finally all ready to go!" Nagisa exclaimed

"Well, we can't get into the pool yet…" However just as Makoto said that Haruka ripped off his tracksuit "Wait, Haru! You were wearing you swimsuit again?!"

"I can't get enough of those triceps!" Gou said in complete awe whereas I couldn't help but turn red

"What? Triceps?!" Makoto shouted confused

"Haruka-san! You heard what Miss Ama-chan said! It's too cold to go in the pool yet!" I shouted

It was too late Haruka-san was already swimming around in the pool. Something's will never change until…

"Wait! His lips are turning purple!" Gou shouted

"Get out before you catch a cold!" Makoto, Gou and I shouted

"I'll go find a net!" Gou shouted

"Do we seriously need to fish him out?!" I shouted

_This was just the beginning of the Iwatobi Swim Club…_

* * *

Sorry I know it's really long but that's just to make up for time and I didn't know what they threw into the pool near the end of the episode so I call those things "That" I know that's a terrible excuse for a writer! Sorry for my appalling writing!


	5. Theoretical Dolphin Kick!

_**Free –**__**High **__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 5: Theoretical Dolphin Kick**_

It's been a couple of days since the pool was finished however since then Haruka-san had apparently caught a cold which was pretty obvious considering how cold the pool actually was! Of course I was a little worried so I made some soup for him…When I arrived I rang the doorbell "Haruka-san! It's me Aki, I have some soup for you!" and then the door opened and it was Nagisa

"Ah, Zaki-chan! Come in!" Nagisa gestured for me to come inside, I did so making sure to take my shoes off, and together we headed for the living room where Makoto was and Haruka sitting at the table wearing a towel over his head.

"Hello Zaki-chan" Makoto greeted

"Hello Makoto-san, Haruka-san I brought you some soup" I replied then all of sudden Haruka-san sneezed very loudly

"Are you okay, Haru?" Makoto asked

"My late grandma used to say that you sneeze when someone else is talking about you" Haruka muttered

"Here" Makoto said as he passed him some tissues to wipe his nose as I walked over to sit down and placed the bag with the container of soup on the table

"Mackerel isn't going to cut it for a cold! Try some traditional homemade Yazaki family soup known to cure any cold!" I said proudly. Well it was a family recipe that my mother finally taught me how to make! (After I begged her)

"It must be Rin-chan" Nagisa blurted and all three of us looked at him in confusion

"No. I'm pretty sure he's sick" Makoto replied

"It's no wonder you're sick I mean you were swimming in an outdoor pool in the middle of April!" I confirmed

"I'm not a baby that gets sick from swimmi-" Before he could finish his sentence Haruka sneezed yet again

"Haruka-san you're only human." I muttered

"It's too early for swimming in outdoor pools. We'll just have to work out till it gets warmer." Makoto explained and frankly he was right

"Oh, I heard from Gou-chan that Rin-chan joined the Samezuka swim team" Nagisa said I was surprised by that, I wondered what caused the change of heart for Rin-san "Is something wrong Mako-chan?" Nagisa asked

"Nothing" he replied with a little smile creeping onto his face maybe it had something to do with the conversation we had with Coach Sasabe. "But this means we might run into him at a tournament."

"Yep we should enter tournaments! Then we can do relays" Nagisa stated

"I only swim freestyle." Haruka stated bluntly by this point we all know that by now

"Does that mean you can't swim relays?" Nagisa asked sadly

"Don't say that Haruka-san!" I scolded but he simply just kept flicking through the magazine on the table

"Come on…" Nagisa muttered

"Besides, we can't swim a relay with three people…" Haruka said

"That's true" Makoto confirmed

"Which means…We have to find one more member?!" Nagisa shouted both shocked and upset but I couldn't help but think…Did none of them realise this from the very start?

* * *

_**A Few Days Later…**_

Haruka was finally better and well enough to come to school since Makoto-san texted me last night as I cycled to school I could really feel spring in the air even if I was cycling by the ocean. It's strange though these journeys to and from school always go so quickly when I'm by myself probably because I end up getting lost in thought. But still ever since Nagisa realised we needed one more member he's been busy working on products and the mascot key chains to recruit new members. I wonder how that's going for him.

It was already the end of the day and I decided to look for Haruka-san and as expected he was by the pool "If you're not careful you'll catch another cold, Haruka-san" I said as I bent down next to him however he sneezed and looked away

"I want to swim already." He said in his usual blunt manner and I couldn't help but smile and giggle a little

"Don't worry before you know it'll be summer and then you can swim to your heart's content…" I said as I looked at my reflection in the pool water

"Wow…" It sounded like Nagisa and it was coming from the changing rooms

"We can swim here in the off season?" Nagisa asked and as Haruka and I walked in we could see Gou-chan holding up a poster "Awesome!"

"Right?" she said as she moved the poster from the view of her face, "I'm thinking that schools like us without indoor pools probably use facilities like these."

"Way to go, Gou-chan! Our super manager!" Nagisa shouted

"You're supposed to call me Kou!" Gou-chan shouted, and then she noticed, "Haruka-senpai, Zaki-senpai." But after she said that Haruka walked up to her and grabbed the poster and examined it

"How do we pay for it?" Haruka asked

"With our club budget, of course" Gou answered

"Ah, I see" Nagisa said and then I looked over Haruka's shoulder to see how much it would cost…I had never seen so many zeroes before and that was per member!

"This gym is pretty expensive to join." Makoto stated

"Um, Kou-chan I don't think our club budget will really cover this…I mean it's showing the price _per_ member!" I explained

"That's probably what you're thinking." Makoto directed that commented at Haruka but knowing him it's probably that he really wants to pay for this…

"Shut up." Haruka said and he turned away which clearly meant Makoto had hit bull's eye

"This means we can swim all year round!" Nagisa shouted

* * *

_**A Few Minutes Later…**_

"That's not happening" Miss Ama-chan put bluntly. The only reason we came here was to run this whole idea past Miss Ama-chan and there was our answer.

"What? Why?" Nagisa asked

"The school isn't going to give that much money to a brand new club with no accomplishments" Miss Ama-chan explained "There is an aphorism from the bible. He who does not work neither shall he eat." She then recited and I don't think she used that phrase in the right context

"I don't think you're using that correctly." Makoto said and clearly we were thinking the same thing

"You can't eat a pool" Nagisa complained

"So we'll get the money if we deliver some accomplishments?" Gou asked

"I suppose" Miss Ama-chan replied, "That's the best way to secure lots of money for your club"

"Accomplishments…" Haruka muttered

"So what if we can get a place in a summer tournament?" Makoto asked, I could sense everyone was getting excited this just might the spark of motivation we need to get this club in action!

"Your request might be approved at the second term budget review meeting. But you'll need at least four swimmers to bolster your case" Miss Ama-chan confirmed

The race was really on now for that extra swimmer I wonder what we could do to convince someone to join? Posters and key chains aren't really cutting it…I put my hand to my chin to think "Swimmers…" I turned to see Haruka muttering to himself again maybe he had an idea, "One more…" he kept muttering and began loosening his tie not that I'm complaining but for some reason I have a bad feeling about this…

Finally, everyone turned to Haruka "Huh?" Makoto, Nagisa and Gou said in unison and he ran out the staff room

"Haruka-san?" I shouted to him

"Haru-chan sounds motivated now!" Nagisa said with an excited tone in his voice we all ran out the staff room after him all curious as to what he was up to, "Oh he stopped." Nagisa muttered as Haruka stopped in front of two boys

"Hey. I'll give you this. So join the swim club." Haruka not only interrupted their conversation but tried to bribe them…with a key chain nobody wants!

"No thanks" the boys replied

"Ouch" Nagisa whispered and to be honest bribery isn't the greatest selling pitch for a club

"That's the best Haru can manage" Makoto groaned

"Don't let it get to you, Haru-chan!" Nagisa cheered

"Should we really be encouraging him?" I muttered

The school day was over before I knew it and I headed to shoe lockers on the way there I saw Nagisa's poster and I smiled a little I could see and feel how much this meant to him and I kept walking. Then I saw Nagisa talking to another boy he looked like a first year but a really tall first year with Dark blue hair and purple eyes covered by red glasses…however the boy brushed Nagisa off and left the building.

I walked over to Nagisa "Nagisa-kun!" I shouted and he turned around

"Oh, Zaki-chan!" He looked surprised

"What's wrong? It's not like you to glum. Who was that boy you were talking too just now?" I asked I couldn't help it I was curious

"That was Ryugazaki…" He then made a thinking face

"Don't you know his first name?" I asked he nodded in response to my question and then looked past my shoulder to the locker and then his face lit up "Huh? Nagisa-kun?" What was the matter with him but then he grabbed my wrist and dragged me back inside the school "Nagisa-kun?!" I shouted in surprise

"We need to get the others I think we have our final member!" He shouted as he dragged me who knows where!

"This way!" Nagisa shouted as he lead the rest of the swim club to the track team field and dragged Haruka-san most of the way

"What is it?" he asked clearly annoyed

"I found the perfect person!" Nagisa declared pointing at the track team

"The track team?" Gou asked

"He can't join us then" Makoto pointed out

"Look. Over there." Nagisa pointed towards him. That was definitely the boy I saw with Nagisa earlier so he's Ryugazaki…, "It's his fate!" Nagisa shouted

"Was he on the swim team in middle school?" Haruka-san asked and that was surprisingly good question that I didn't expect to come from him

"Does he hold a record?" Gou asked

"It's his name!" Nagisa continued to shout

"His name?" I muttered is that why he was so surprised earlier by the shoe lockers?

"Yep" He replied, "It's Rei Ryugazaki! He's the same as us! A boy with a girly name!" He said that with such enthusiasm I didn't know whether to be angry or not

"That's your reason?!" Gou shouted and he nodded, "But I have to agree. Look at those deltoids…" and as usual Gou continued ogle as muscles

"That's your reason?!" Makoto stuttered, "You really think those reasons are enough?"

"My reason is very good!" Gou declared

"Picking someone by their name or muscles doesn't necessarily mean they fit the bill!" I shouted

"That's right Mako-chan, Zaki-chan. Go with your gut on these things." Nagisa tried in vain to reassure us

"Hey it looks like he is about to jump." Haruka-san pointed out to us, we all turned to look, and it looked like he was muttering something to himself. Then he began his sprint and when he jumped…it was so precise we were all amazed by it.

"His form was beautiful." Makoto said, "He's probably a great diver."

"Absolutely! And his biceps are beautiful!" Gou exclaimed

"Would you stop rating people's abilities based on their muscles!" I shouted but in the corner of my eye I could see Nagisa looking awe at the sight of Ryugazaki's jump…He really wants this guy to join that badly?

* * *

_**The following day…**_

"No luck. He wouldn't say yes. I don't think Rei-chan likes water" Nagisa complained

It was clear, Nagisa would not be giving up on recruiting Rei Ryugazaki…

"We don't need anyone like that. Don't let him in the water" Haruka put bluntly clearly annoyed by the water comment

"If you say that, nobody will join!" Nagisa scolded Haruka "We'll have to spend all winter lifting weights and jogging! Are you all right with that Haru-chan?!" I could see Haruka-san go pale at the very thought.

He turned away "No" he replied

"Look we could try holding an assembly or do a pitch for first years" I suggested and they looked at me as if I suggested they jump of cliff

"I think we need Ama-chan to strip down for us." Nagisa muttered

"And you thought _my _idea was bad!" I was annoyed not only about how they blew off my idea but then they suggested such a ludicrous thing!

"Besides that won't happen. She said that she won't wear a swimsuit" Makoto agreed with me

"Then we should reverse it!" Nagisa said

"Reverse it?" Makoto muttered

"If you join, you get to show off your swimsuit to Ama-chan!" Nagisa explained

"Would anyone want that?" Makoto and I muttered in unison

"Wait, don't write that down!" Makoto had stopped Haruka from writing that on the poster that was currently in progress and then she appeared…

All three of them looked up to…to…Miss Ama-chan "Excuse me, boys and Miss Yazaki" in such an eerie voice

"We're sorry!" Nagisa and Makoto screamed in fear whilst I couldn't help but sigh…

On my way home, I couldn't help but think…when we get our final member Haruka-san will be able to race Rin-san again. But does Haruka-san truly want to beat Rin-san again? I sighed I realised that this isn't my place to pry besides I better hurry up and get home and I continued to cycle in the sunset.

"We have good news for everyone today." Gou announced but to be honest it was all Gou "Amazingly enough I was able to schedule a joint practice with Samezuka!" she said proudly

"What? Really!" Nagisa asked everyone looked so happy to be honest when Gou-chan texted me last night I was just as surprised

"Did you ask Rin?" Makoto inquired

"My brother won't listen to me, so I went straight to their captain." Gou explained and with the way their captain acted meeting Gou for the first time it made absolute sense. After all when they met he called her "cute" right off the bat and ignored I was there too!

"That's our super manager, Gou-cha-" Nagisa said only to be cut off by Gou

"It's Kou" She interrupted by this point I would have given up calling her Gou well I call her "Gou" in my mind but when I address her I call her "Kou" just to avoid an awkwardness of being corrected

"That means we have permission to swim in Samezuka's indoor pool now." Makoto confirmed

"But…" Gou muttered, "Since it's a joint practice, we need to bring four members at a minimum"

"That means we have to recruit a new member before the practice" Nagisa realised, "Especially since Gou-chan used her sex appeal to get us this chance."

Gou blushed at the moment she heard that comment "I didn't use sex appeal" she shouted trying to defend herself

"Huh? You didn't use appeal?" Nagisa asked

"Of course not!" She retorted

The next day, I was cycling to school the next morning when I saw Haruka-san and Makoto walking down "Haruka-san! Makoto-san!" I shouted and they turned around as I stopped my bike, "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Zaki-chan" Makoto replied

"Morning" Haruka muttered and then we walked all the way to school and then when we arrived Nagisa was out of breath and in his tracksuit, "What are you doing?" Haruka asked

"Haru-chan, Mako-chan and Zaki-chan" Nagisa muttered and then he looked surprised, "Oh, Rei-chan." We all turned to see Ryugazaki-san walking up to us.

"Are you Haru-chan-san?" He asked Haruka-san

"Don't put –chan _and_ –san on my name" Haruka said with an annoyed tone in his voice

"Is something up?" Nagisa asked

"I'm willing to participate in your joint practice as a trial member." Ryugazaki replied we were all taken aback by his answer…I wonder what changed his mind? Did Nagisa manage to convince him?

"What? Really?!" Nagisa asked he was ecstatic by Ryugazaki's acceptance

"But only on one condition." He answered and fixed his glasses, "I won't do any swimming"

* * *

The time had finally come for our joint practice with Samezuka and even though I had seen, it before I was still taken aback by their indoor pool not only was it big but the water looked amazing!

"Indoor pools are nice!" Nagisa exclaimed whilst to my left I could see that Gou was ogling at all the Samezuka swimmers and I gave her a quick nudge to grab her attention

"The captains coming!" I whispered

"Hey, thanks for coming." He greeted

"Thank you very much!" we all replied after all it was so kind of them to be willing to host a joint practice with us. Most people would probably brush off the request or say it's a waste of time!

"Sure." He replied, "You're Nanase-kun, right? You won a bunch of regional tournaments in grade school"

"Yeah" Haruka answered then just behind the captain I could see Rin-san…he really has changed over the years his hair is still as messy as it was back then but he's taller and more muscular…What am I thinking?! I'm sounding like Gou-chan! I could feel myself turning red I had turn around and calm myself down!

"What's up Zaki-chan?" Nagisa asked tilting to see my face

"N-Nothing! I'm just feeling a bit hot in here!" I replied and began to laugh awkwardly…what is the matter with me?

Meanwhile, Gou had ran up to Rin-san "Oh, Big Brother!" she shouted. The least I could do was go greet him after all he is a friend so I walked up to him along with Nagisa and Makoto

"Rin-chan! We get to swim together again!" Nagisa greeted, "Let's have fun today!"

"Together? You guys are a waste of my time." Rin replied brushing Nagisa off

"Long time no see, Rin-san!" I greeted he then sighed as he continued to walk away that was definitely not the Rin-san I remember…he's changed…a lot

Once everyone completed their stretches, they lined up and listened to what Captain Mikoshiba had to say "I was thinking you could practice with our first years today. Okay!" he instructed, "Let's start with individual time trials. You there." He was pointing at Ryugazaki-san, "Get in your swimsuit."

"Uh, I'm not…" Ryugazaki-san tried to explain but then…

"Sorry! He forgot to bring his swimsuit!" Nagisa tried to justify to Captain Mikoshiba

"What? Why is he here then?" he looked annoyed, "You can use our spare swimsuits, so go get changed!" And that's when the bombshell dropped…

Gou and I looked at each other and then back at the scene before us. What do we do? This was Ryugazaki's one and only condition and before we knew it hew was being rushed off to go get a swimsuit…I feel guilty now!

"The deal was that I wouldn't have to swim." Ryugazaki complained

"I'm so sorry, Ryugazaki-san!" I apologized

"Don't worry!" Nagisa said trying to reassure us, "These time trials are just for practice, so it doesn't matter if you're slow!"

"That's not the issue!" He retorted

The trials were beginning and Makoto was going first because he was our team captain. Gou had a clipboard ready to take note of the times as managers this is the best opportunity to evaluate our members' skills and help them develop them! Therefore, I was timing everybody with the stopwatch.

After Makoto it was Nagisa and then…Ryugazaki-san who is absolutely against this! However, as Ryugazaki stood on the podium ready to dive in. Nobody was ready for what was about to happen next…

Ryugazaki-san couldn't swim! On land, his form was so beautiful! Yet here he ended flopping like a fish we were all in pure shock however, he wasn't returning back to the surface…

"U-Uh…He hasn't come back up." Makoto muttered

"Um this looks bad…" Gou whispered

"Nagisa-kun go help him! Somebody help him!" I shouted and kneeled by the side of the pool however I felt a strong breeze push past me and I could see it was Haruka-san…

"Is he okay?" Captain Mikoshiba asked we all kept our eyes glued to the pool and finally they rose back to the surface with Ryugazaki-san's arm around Haruka's neck gasping for air. We all breathed a sigh of relief that he was okay…but now I felt even more guilty not only did we drag him here but now I understand why he was completely against swimming.

Soon, Ryugazaki-san was taken out the pool and sat on the side with a towel on his head looking down in shame…He must have felt embarrassed by the fact he couldn't swim. "So Rei-chan…you can't swim?" Nagisa asked

"Yeah…" He answered, "Are you saying it's my fault?! I told I wasn't going to swim!"

"You should have said something earlier" Nagisa explained

"I wasn't going to admit I couldn't swim." He retorted, "That would go against my sense of beauty!"

"I'll go clear things up with Samezuka" Makoto said, "Sorry about forcing you into this situation" whilst Haruka was getting ready for his trial

"Um, Ryugazaki-san?" I knelt down next to him as I addressed him and he turned to look at me, "I'm sorry about what happened. But here you go." He looked down at the water bottle in my hand and took it of me and turned his head away again "By the way, try watching Haruka-san swim" as I stood up again I couldn't help but watch the sight but then I noticed Ryugazaki-san looked just as amazed as everyone else

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked

"No, it's just…" He whispered

"See? I told you so." Nagisa exclaimed, "Haru-chan's an amazing swimmer!"

* * *

_**A Few Days later…**_

We all headed to the track field after school well it was mainly Nagisa's idea he still had his heart set on recruiting Ryugazaki-san.

"You still haven't given up?" Makoto asked

"Of course not!" Nagisa replied we all sat on the bench watching Ryugazaki-san, "But it looks like Rei-chan…"

"Ryugazaki!" the coach called

"Yes" Ryugazaki-san replied

"…is feeling much better" Nagisa finally finished we all watched as Ryugazaki-san prepared to jump but something seemed different about him today…and soon as he dissented as he jumped over the pole he formed a starfish position?

"What?!" we all shouted in shock however the moment didn't last long and he hit the pole and crash landed on the matt. Afterwards though he began to walk over to us

"Huh? He's coming over here." Nagisa pointed out and once he reached the bench

"I want to be like you, Nanase-senpai." He declared

"What do you mean?" I asked

"I want that kind of freedom." He replied

"It's not freedom. It's freestyle." Haruka-san explained

"F-Freestyle…Anyway I would like to formally join the swim club!" He requested and bowed in front of us…we were all shocked by this only a couple of days ago he was completely against the idea but now…

"What? Really?!" Nagisa shouted and Haruka for once was surprised as well

"If you want to swim, go ahead." Haruka-san turned his head away after he said that

"That's that, then!" Makoto finished

"Yep!" Gou replied

"Welcome to the swim team!" I shouted

"However, you were the one who initially invited me to join. I expect you to take responsibility, Nagisa-kun" when Ryugazaki-san addressed Nagisa, he looked a little embarrassed but Nagisa was over the moon.

"Sure! You can count on me!" Nagisa said as he pounced on top of Ryugazaki-san and we all laughed away.

At last we found another member!


	6. Captive Butterfly

_**Free –**__**High **__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 6: Captive Butterfly**_

It was a beautiful morning and inside I was having breakfast with my parents humming away to myself now that Rei decided to join we can enter competitions! Also today, we start wearing our summer uniforms too.

"You're in an _awfully_ good mood this morning, little sister dearest…So what happened?" Shota teased on my shoulder, which surprised me because I hadn't even heard him come down!

"None of your business!" I retorted

"Dad! Aki's being cold!" Shota whined

"Be nice you two!" Dad scolded us besides I've finished mine anyway I moved from the table put the dishes in the sink then grabbed my lunch and headed to the hallway.

"So you're not gonna tell me?!" Shota whined as he stood in the doorway and I pulled a tongue at him and headed out through the door…I swear my brother is a kid trapped in a grown up's body!

* * *

"Okay! We officially have four club members now, and it's warming up outside, so we will finally begin training in the pool today…" before Gou had even finished her sentence we both felt something move past us faster than the speed of a bullet

I turned to see Haruka-san leap into the pool which to be honest at this point I was not surprised at…

"Hold on" Gou shouted

"Haruka-san!" I scolded

"Could you listen to what I have to say first, Haruka-senpai?! Please, Haruka-senpai! Come on…" Gou exclaimed

"No good when he's in the water he doesn't listen to anyone…" I mumbled it's best to give up and continue the explanation with everyone else I turned around to see everyone looking at the training regime Gou and I found when she asked me to come over one day…to help clean.

By the looks of things, they were impressed and it looked like they were helping Rei get the gist of things.

"Anyway this is a pretty solid training regimen. Did you come up with this, Zaki-chan, Gou-chan?" Nagisa asked

"Can you stop calling me Gou? Forget it" Gou complained, "Zaki-senpai and I found when we were cleaning my house."

"Eh. Why would you help her clean her house, Zaki-chan?" Nagisa asked

"Don't ask…" I replied. To be honest I don't even know how I ended up helping out myself…

"It's my brother's old regimen." Gou explained

"Sit with legs apart and lean the upper body forward. Hold for 20 seconds. Bend one arm behind the head and use the other to push the elbow toward the center of the body. Hold 20 seconds." Ryugazaki-kun muttered away to himself as he kept stretching and Haruka finally got out of the pool and was reading Rin-san's training regimen.

I walked towards him and peaked over his shoulder "Are you that interested?" I asked and he looked over in my direction "In Rin-san's old training regimen?"

"Not really. You can write down a regimen and not follow it" He replied and passed me the piece of paper as he prepared to dive back into the pool

"So he is interested" I heard a giggle and turned to see Gou who probably overheard the conversation

Nagisa and Makoto were on the side of the pool "So cold…" Nagisa complained

"The water's still pretty cold" Makoto agreed meanwhile Ryugazaki-kun was still muttering instructions to himself and stretching against the wall.

"Rei-chan, you're still stretching?" Nagisa asked as he got out the pool

"I want to be as safe as possible" Ryugazaki-kun replied whilst still stretching

"You gonna be okay?" Makoto asked, "You can take it slow…"

"There's no need to worry" Ryugazaki-kun cut him off, "I've mastered the theory of swimming in the past few days. I won't embarrass myself again!"

Rei headed towards the diving podium everyone's eyes glued to him with concern or in Gou's case in awe at his biceps. As he leapt of the podium, his form was…amazing however, what happened next…not so much. It was the Samezuka pool incident all over again, soon we all gathered around where Rei had dived but it looked like he was swimming but not going anywhere.

Seconds later, he quickly rose to the surface gasping for air "I think you need to start by learning how to swim" Nagisa suggested

Nagisa and Makoto had jumped back into the pool and begun teaching Ryugazaki-kun to swim "Let's start with the turtle float." Makoto suggested

"I'll show you how it's done." Nagisa volunteered put his goggles on and assumed the position

"You hug your knees to your chest and relax." Makoto explained

"It's not beautiful" Ryugazaki-kun complained

"Just give it a try" Makoto replied and Ryugazaki-kun followed his instructions

"So he can float" Nagisa muttered

"Now slowly extend your arms and legs and try to swim." Makoto instructed however as soon as Ryugazaki-kun did that he sunk like a rock yet again

"No good…" Makoto muttered

Gou-chan and I were watching from the side "What's the problem?" I muttered then Haruka-san had finished another lap

"Haruka-senpai…why do you swim?" Gou-chan asked I was taken by surprise why would she ask a question like that?

"I don't have a reason." He replied

"My brother's dream is to become an Olympic swimmer. That's why he went all the way to Australia to study." Gou stated

"That's got nothing to do with me. Besides it's just a dream." Haruka retorted

"Perhaps. But I think he'll be a little closer to his dream if he's with you guys. Like when you swam the relay together." Gou-chan simply gave him a smile.

* * *

_**The next day…**_

"Forget it!" Gou and I said in unison after Nagisa pitched the idea of matching uniforms to us. Gou snatched the magazine away and showed them the new training regime we drew up together

"Is that a new training regimen?" Makoto asked

"Yes" Gou replied "We revamped the training regimen to account for the fact that Rei-kun can't swim"

"Ryugazaki-kun!" I called

"Wh-What is it?" he asked

"Given how much time we have until the regional tournament, theoretically you have to learn how to swim within a week." I answered

"Within a week?" He muttered and laughed "That's conceptually impossible."

"Ryugazaki-kun…" I was worried but

"This is no laughing matter!" Gou-chan scolded him

"Yes ma'am!" He replied

"If you fail we won't be able to complete this training regimen!" Shoving the training regimen in his face Gou had written on the top

"_Iwatobi Swim Club Training Regimen (Stage 1) _

_Rei-kun only: Reduce all sets by half!"_

Rei's face was in complete shock. Gou-chan was taking this regimen very seriously and had put up a countdown. I know sometimes it's necessary to apply pressure but this might be going a little overboard…

We watched from the sides as Nagisa tried to teach Rei to swim and at one point Miss Ama-chan joined us

"I'll go first. I can teach you frog style." Nagisa explained

"The breaststroke. Or breast, right?" Ryugazaki-kun asked

"You've done your homework, Rei-chan." Nagisa was impressed

"I've learned all the concepts" Ryugazaki-kun declared, "I just need to figure out how to make it work. That's all"

"Then let's start with your legs." Nagisa suggested and gave his hands to Rei and practiced kicking, "Wow Rei-chan. You're form is perfect"

"Naturally." Ryugazaki-kun said with confidence

"I'm going to let go, then." Nagisa pointed out

"Go ahead" Ryugazaki-kun confirmed and he began to swim a little then sink a little

"Wow, your stroke is also perfect-" Nagisa kept encouraging him, "Huh?"

Ryugazaki-kun rose back to the surface gasping for air "Why?" he asked

* * *

_**6 days left…**_

Gou ripped off "seven days to go" from the calendar

"I'm up next. If you're having trouble with breast, we can start with back." Makoto explained "With the backstroke, you keep your face above the surface, so it's easier for people who are scared of water."

"I'm not scared of water." Ryugazaki-kun said as he held his arms up in the air for Makoto to support him

"Move slowly" Makoto instructed, "That's it"

"He knows how to float" Nagisa muttered

"Naturally. My condition wasn't optimal yesterday." Ryugazaki-kun explained

"I'm gonna let go, then" Makoto explains

"Go ahead" Rei replies and when Makoto does…he sinks like a rock

He rises back to the surface, gasping for air again.

"What am I doing wrong?" He asked

"This is hopeless!" Nagisa complained, "Haru-chan, teach him how to swim!"

"No, that requires effort." Haruka turned his head away

"Man, don't be that way!" Nagisa complained

"This isn't looking good…" Gou-chan muttered

"How is it possible that even though he's moving he keeps sinking?"I asked

"That's it!"Gou exclaimed

"What's it?" I asked

"Miss Ama-chan, do you have any excellent advice to offer us?" Gou-chan asked

"Let's see…" Miss Ama-chan muttered Gou-chan and I waited eagerly. Soon Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa gathered around waiting as well.

Miss Ama-chan was clearly thinking hard we were all waiting in anticipation. In the end, she drew a blank.

* * *

_**5 days left…**_

With five days left and the fact it was raining. We took advantage of this, we decided to hold a club meeting at Haruka-san's house and the topic was…

"Okay let's begin the "let's figure out why Rei-chan can't swim" meeting" Nagisa announced, "Anybody have any thoughts?" Everyone looked at Ryugazaki-kun

"The water doesn't like him." Haruka suggested

"Poor Rei-chan…" Nagisa replied

"That can't be it." Makoto injected. Thank goodness, someone said something!

"Do you like mackerel?" Haruka asked

"What does mackerel have anything to do with this?" I asked

"Maybe he's athletically challenged!" Gou-chan suggested

"Rei-chan's really fast and he does well on tests" Nagisa explained

"So you must be smart." Makoto commented

This discussion was going nowhere…

"DHA…" Gou-chan muttered

"I know! His head is too heavy!" Nagisa exclaimed

"All that studying has enlarged his brain" Gou-chan agreed

Ryugazaki-kun slammed his hands on the table and stood up "That's enough!" he shouted, "The problem is the way you guys teach! If I had a proper coach, I would be fine!"

"A coach…" Makoto muttered

"There is a coach!" I pointed out

"What?" Coach Sasabe asked, "You want me to teach a kid who sinks like a rock? Because I used to be a coach?"

"I object. I can float, so I don't sink like a rock. A more accurate analogy would be to call me a submarine." Ryugazaki-kun corrected him

"Hey, Goro-chan, we want you to teach him how to swim." Nagisa said in-between eating and talking

"Don't talk and eat at the same time!" Goro shouted, "I'm a busy man. Why don't you guys teach him? Bye"

And with that Coach Goro left. We were back to square one…On the bright side at least we had pizza!

"Didn't work" Makoto muttered.

* * *

_**4 days left…**_

The rain had stopped and we could practice outside once again. "I finally know the reason why I can't swim!" Ryugazaki-kun shouted from the pool side

"Really?" Nagisa asked from the pool

"You figured it out?" Makoto asked

"Yes, the answer was right under my nose." Ryugazaki-kun answered, "The answer is… "

"The answer is?" Makoto and Nagisa said in unison

"My…Swimsuit!" Ryugazaki-kun declared pointing at the yellow speedo that I'm sure Nagisa let him borrow, "The speedo is to blame!"

Both Nagisa and Makoto got out the pool "I let you borrow that, right? That's kinda mean." Nagisa complained

"It is not mean! The problem is that this speedo is not streamlined to my body, I think!" Ryugazaki-kun explained, "I haven't crunched the numbers yet!"

I could overhear the conversation from here, he really likes being on top form doesn't he?

* * *

_**3 days left…**_

It was a Sunday so we all decided to take a shopping trip to buy Rei a new swimsuit. I had decided to wear a ¾ length green-blue tied shirt with a white dress with thin black stripes and green-blue pumps. We all met up at the train station and from there…"So why didn't Miss Ama-chan come with us to buy his swimsuit?" Makoto asked

"She worked for a swimsuit maker in Tokyo, right?" Gou-chan asked

"Well I did ask her, but…" Nagisa replied

_**Nagisa's flashback**_

"Um, I have something else to do on Sunday" Miss Ama-chan replied, "Plus, there are other brands! I have my reasons. I won't be able to provide an objective perspective."

_**End of flashback**_

"What's with the flurry of random excuses?" Ryugazaki-kun asked. On a serious note what did Miss Ama-chan have against swimsuits was the rumours about her being a swimsuit model in Tokyo true?

After we got off the train we walked all the way to Sports Zero one of the best sports shops in the industry no matter the sport, you could literally get any piece of equipment from this place.

"There are a lot to choose from." Gou-chan noted as she crouched down to the shelf's level to take a closer look

"Fluid mechanics would tell you that Reynolds numbers and boundary layer theory are key points, but I believe that the colour plays a physiological role. I'll also need prescription goggles." Ryugazaki-kun explained

Now that I think about it's been a while since I went swimming and it would be good exercise maybe I'll do a bit of shopping myself.

"Kou-chan I'm going to do some browsing of my own, okay?" I informed her she looked back up at me

"Okay!" she replied and headed over to Makoto and Haruka whilst I headed towards the women's section

When I got there, Gou-chan was right there was a lot to choose from however, each and every one of them was black but the physical design was different ranging from a one piece to a bikini but they also had a distinct colour on them.

I picked up a one piece that split on the sides and exposed the back a little. It has a distinct yellow coloured stripes on it. It would do for laps around a pool; I should look up gym memberships as well. Then again my parents would probably say the fact that I cycle to and from school should keep me healthy enough but ever since we began the swim club memories of those days have resurfaced. Anyway I payed for the swimsuit and headed towards the vending machine for a drink. When I got there I saw Gou-chan who heavily sighed and muttered "I'm exhausted. Now I know how guys feel when they have to go shopping with girls."

"What's wrong Kou-chan?" I asked

"Oh, Zaki-senpai! Hm?" She looked down at the bag, "What did you buy?"

"Oh it's nothing special!" I replied

"Now I really want to know!" Gou-chan leaned down to get her drink from the machine but then we hear someone call over to us

"Hey!" we turned to see that it was Captain Mikoshiba from Samezuka Academy, "Fancy meeting you here."

"Captain Mikoshiba…"

"Are you doing some shopping, Gou-kun?" He asked completely ignoring me. You know I'm standing here as well!

"Please don't use Gou and –kun together." Gou-chan complained to be fair I only call her Kou when I'm addressing her.

"We're here to look for new swimsuits. I'm so happy!" He was chuckling away to himself

"Does that mean my brother's here?" Gou asked

"He might be…Do you wanna go look for him?" I suggested and we quietly slipped away whilst Captain Mikoshiba kept rambling on to himself and headed back to the male swimsuit department but then, "Look" I pointed Rin-san leading Haruka-san outside and we followed them.

We hid behind a pillar near to the elevator. I know it's wrong to listen in on a private conversation but this was…

"Haru, what have you been doing these past three years?" Rin asked, "You're better than this."

"I'm not better than someone who just returned from Australia." Haruka retorted

"Are you mocking me?" Rin asked

"I'm not" Haruka replied, "You won our race."

"It'd be hard not to beat you given the shape you're in." Rin commented

"A win is a win." Haruka said, "You won."

"It's not! I want a real race!" Rin shouted, "Or else…I can't move on"

"You're a pain. I only swim free. I won't swim for you." after hearing Haruka say that next thing I know I hear the fence clang what's going on are they going to have a fist fight?

"No. You're going to swim for me." Rin commanded the tone of voice was serious enough to send a chill down my spine.

"In that case, I want you to promise me something. If you lose, don't say you're going to quit, don't embarrass yourself and don't cry if you lose" Haruka replied

I could hear Rin release a tiny laugh at Haruka-san's comment "I'm not a little kid anymore. This time I'll make it clear how different you and I are. Try building some muscle before the prefectural tournament. We'll settle things there. See you at the tournament."

After that, I couldn't hear any more clearly Rin-san left but that conversation was hinting back to that race that they had in middle school but why has Rin-san changed so much in the last four years?

"Oh there they are!" Gou-chan and I jumped at the familiar voice coming from behind us and we turned to see it was Nagisa

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked

"It's nothing" Gou-chan replied and ran into the elevator I took a quick glace behind me and walked to the elevator as well.

* * *

_**2 days left…**_

The night before, Gou-chan sent me a text telling me not to tell anyone about what we heard it was probably for the best anyway.

However, for now we focused on getting Ryugazaki-kun to swim he jumped onto the dive board in his brand new swimsuit that was _not _a speedo. Gou-chan and I sat at the pool side next to Makoto and Nagisa.

"Swimming cap, check. Prescription goggles check. Not a speedo, check." Ryugazaki-kun sounded like he was saying some sort of spell but we watched him prepare to enter the pool.

"He looks like a world class swimmer from here." Makoto commented

"Maybe he'll actually manage to swim this time" Nagisa followed

"Yep! I think this might work!" Gou-chan added

"Good luck, Ryugazaki-kun!" I shouted

"His entry angle is perfect" Makoto pointed out. Is this the moment Ryugazaki-kun finally swims?

Soon we could see him moving underwater yet sink like a rock. Again Ryugazaki-kun rose to the surface and muttered "Why?"

However we heard another splash and saw a figure underwater it was Haruka-san.

"I'll teach you" Haruka said this left Rei surprised, "You want to learn how to swim, right?"

"Please help me!" Ryugazaki-kun bowed his head

"However, I can only teach you free." Haruka put bluntly

"Yes!" Ryugazaki-kun answered. We were all amazed even though Haruka was initially completely against the idea of teaching Rei how to swim he's now willing to help! This is amazing!

"Haru's going to teach someone how to swim?" Makoto whispered

"Bringing in the big guns!" Nagisa declared

From that point till the sun began to set Haruka-san talked Ryugazaki-kun through everything he knew. "That's everything I have to teach you. The rest is up to you." Haruka said, "Believe in yourself."

"Yes!" Ryugazaki-kun put his goggles back on and prepared to put his new skills to the test. He kicked from the back wall and began to move underwater and the same thing happened yet again….

"WHY?!" Ryugazaki-kun screamed

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Miss Ama-chan whispered

"Isn't that a quote from Edison?" Makoto asked

"So hard work will always triumph over natural talent" I pointed out

"I guess he'll have to keep practicing…" Nagisa complained we all dropped our heads at Nagisa's point

"However…You can interpret Edison's quote to mean that hard work means nothing without that flash of inspiration, don't you think?" Miss Ama-chan asked

We were all dumbfounded "A rejection of hard work?!" Gou-chan shouted

It was sunset and Gou-chan and I had to clean away the equipment tomorrow was the last day…maybe it really was impossible…

* * *

_**Last Day…**_

"Since it's come to this, let's have him use a kickboard in the tournament!" Nagisa proposed getting a kickboard out of the equipment cupboard

"Do the rules allow that?" Gou-chan asked

"That's an option" Makoto pointed out as he came from behind us, "I don't think the rules prohibit it"

"We'll have to look it up later." Nagisa pointed out then we all noticed that somebody was swimming in the pool it was probably Haruka-san by the looks of it.

"Someone's in the pool..." I muttered

"Is that Haru-chan?" Nagisa asked

"But Haru only does free." Makoto pointed out

"It's not me." A voice said from behind we all turned around to find Haruka-san as the source of the voice.

"Haru?!" Makoto yelped then we all turned back to the pool

"That means..." Gou trailed off

"Rei-chan?!" Nagisa shouted as Ryugazaki-kun emerged from the water taking deep breaths and we all ran towards him, "Were you just swimming butterfly?!"

"It was the only stroke I hadn't tried yet. Once I tried it, I was able to swim" Ryuguzaki-kun replied

"What?!" The four of us said in unison the fact that one stroke was the key to Ryugazaki-kun being able to swim, "Why?!"

Ryugazaki-kun had put his glasses on and turned his head in Haruka-san's direction, "Well..." he muttered

"Did you say something, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked but Ryugazaki-kun simply smiled and replied

"No, I can't explain it either."

"Seriously?" Gou groaned

"Well it worked out in the end." Makoto stated

"Hey Rei-chan? Can you do another lap?" Nagisa asked

"Sure."

I couldn't help but look over at Haruka-san who was playing with a butterfly and I smiled I don't know how but you really saved the day...

* * *

_Sorry I haven't updated in quite a while I have exams coming up but I will try every now and then so please be patient. I haven't updated because one of my close friends passed away a couple of months ago but considering the condition she had she lived for quite a long time so I guess this chapter is in memory of Nina...my dear friend may you rest in peace._


	7. Trial in Open Water!

_**Free –**__**High **__**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 7: Trial in open water**_

Today I was running a bit late for practice because I had to take the classes' math books to the teachers' office and I told Haruka-san and Makoto-san to go on ahead of me. I reached the changing and burst in "Sorry I'm late! Wait what?" I looked up to see everyone stood still around Gou-chan and I crept over to see what was going on. "What's Kou-chan doing?" I asked

"Shh" Nagisa hushed me then Gou-chan dipped her paintbrush into the ink and passionately drew on the paper when she was done it said _"48 Days until the Prefectural Tournament!" _I remembered having a conversation with Gou about how we wanted the guys to make good use of their time I guess a little pressure never hurts an athlete it might even inspire them. "Gou-chan are you still doing those?" Nagisa asked

"Can you stop that?" Ryugazaki-kun added

"Pressure is what pushes people to the next level." Gou replied

"Pressure can also ruin people." Haruka-san retorted I looked over in his direction it was quite rare for him to openly state his opinion

"Are you talking about Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked which clearly annoyed Ryugazaki-kun

"I'm not that weak!" he retorted and Makoto let out a chuckle at their argument but then raised his head in thought

"Wait, why are you wearing a hakama?" He asked

"Stop talking and start practicing!" Gou yelled and they all sped out the room in fear I couldn't help but chuckle, "Get going! Honestly..." she sighed the wind then started to pick up and howled through the room sending Gou-chan's countdown papers scattered on the floor we both turned around to look Gou-chan screamed in horror and I sighed, "Man..." she muttered and I walked over and started to pick them up.

"This is such a pain..." I muttered as I picked up the papers as I picked one up I noticed something sticking out from underneath the rug, "Hm, what's this?" I picked it up from underneath the rug it looked like a booklet of some sort.

"What's up? Did you find something?" Gou asked and she poked her head over my shoulder she gasped, "This is..."

* * *

"_Iwatobi High School Swim Club Summer Training Camp From Hell On A Deserted Island_? Kou-chan do you know something about this?" I turned around and she was gone through the door.

"You won't believe this! Zaki-chan found something amazing!" Gou shouted through the door frame, "Come on!" she came back in and dragged me outside. We stood in front of everyone presenting our discovery.

"_Iwatobi High School Swim Club Summer Training Camp From Hell On A Deserted Island…_" Makoto-san muttered

"Hell?" Ryugazaki-kun muttered

"Deserted island?" Haruka-san muttered

"Sounds fun!" Nagisa shouted as he leapt forward he looked like he had a glitter of excitement in his eye.

"This took place several decades ago, when Iwatobi still had a swim club!" Gou announced

"So what's your point?" Ryugazaki-kun asked

"So we should steal their training regimen and hold a training camp on a deserted island!" Gou suggested, I think she and Nagisa have their heart set on this training regime, she snatched the regimen out of my hands and pointed towards the changing rooms, "To prepare for prefecturals!"

I feel like we're in the motivational scene of a cheesy sports movie…

"Too much effort." Haruka-san bluntly said sitting at the edge of the pool with his hand in the water

"There is now time for complaining!" Gou turned pointing at Haruka-san, "Look at the training regimen they used!" she opened it up to show us.

The pages were brown but the diagram was still clear it showed the drawings of four islands one looking like a wolf about to eat something with a boat just below it to the right. The waves were drawn similar to folklore art. Each island had an arrow coming out of it and pointing in the direction of the island next to it forming a circle. This is probably a circuit.

"They swam long distances in the ocean. From one deserted island to the next. Don't you think this training would be perfect for building stamina?" Gou said excitedly

"The ocean…" Makoto-san muttered I looked up at him he looked a little bit sad…Makoto-san didn't seem like himself

"Yep the ocean!" Gou didn't notice but I looked in the corner of my eye Haruka-san even noticed he was looking towards Makoto-san at the corner of his eye.

"We should participate in the same training regimen that our storied swim club used!" Gou added

"Our swim club was storied?" Nagisa asked tilting his head

"Yep, look what I found." She pulled out a piece of paper from the back of the book and pointed at a certain line

"Sixth place in the Iwatobi Junior Tournament." I muttered it's not bad but…

"Weak." Nagisa and Ryugazaki-kun muttered in unison

"Anyway! Right now the Iwatobi Swim Club needs stamina!" Gou added

"Kou-chan's right! Summer is probably the perfect time to hold a training camp!" I added

"That's right Zaki-senpai! In the ocean! On the deserted island!" Gou shouted…Gou-chan you really have your heart set on the deserted islands.

"Wait, I don't see how deserted islands are relevant here." Ryugazaki-kun said

"But it's more exciting when you add the deserted islands" Nagisa explained

"I know right? So let's hold a training camp! Your decision, Captain?" Everyone turned to Makoto-san

"Huh? Oh…I guess it's a good idea to hold a training camp to help prepare for prefecturals." Makoto-san replied

"Hurray! It's settled, then!" Nagisa exclaimed

"Yipee!" Nagisa and Gou yelled

* * *

_20 minutes later…_

We all headed towards the faculty office to try and have Miss Ama-chan fund this "Deserted Island Training Camp" which will be…highly unlikely, "The club doesn't have money for that." I was right

"Then we could ask for our generous advisor to pay for it!" Nagisa tried to butter her up

"I'm not that generous!" Miss Ama-chan retorted, "Besides, people only get that lucky in TV shows and manga." Well she isn't wrong… "The Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, said it best. "The book that has had the most influence on my life is my check book."" We all stared at her in confusion…she could have just stuck with a resounding "no"

After our chat with Miss Ama-chan, the guys got changed and Gou came with me to grab my bike and we all headed to the convenience store to buy popsicles and drinks.

"But I really wanted to go to a deserted island with everyone." Nagisa complained whilst biting into his chocolate popsicle, "If the school won't pay for it, we can try to pay for it ourselves." Nagisa suggested

"I can't afford it." Ryugazaki-kun bluntly stated, "We had to pay for the uniform ourselves, and I bought a non-speedo swimsuit." He explained

"I also bought a swimsuit." Haruka-san added

"Basically we've all spent our money swimsuits…" I finished

"Rei needed a swimsuit, but the rest of you didn't need to buy one." Gou added, "Especially not Haruka-senpai."

"All your swimsuits look the same." Nagisa stated

"They fit differently." Haruka-san retorted

"We could all find part-time jobs." Nagisa suggested

"It's a little late for that now, Nagisa-kun." I answered

"Unfortunately, it looks like this plan's a bust." Gou complained and the two begun to sulk

"Wait." Makoto-san broke the silence and the first-years turned around, "I'll think of something. There should be a way to hold a camp without needing money." Makoto-san declared at that moment Nagisa and Gou jumped for joy

"Mako-chan's getting serious." Nagisa exclaimed, I looked up Makoto-san I still couldn't get over the look on his face when Gou first mentioned the ocean…Makoto-san are you hiding something? However now Makoto-san is still smiling his usual smile

"We can count on our captain!" Gou shouted even Haruka-san noticed but he continued to chew away at his popsicle taking a large bite out of it.

* * *

We all followed Makoto-san to his house to grab some camping equipment, "I'll give you a hand." I stated as Makoto-san headed inside

"Really? That'd be great, thanks! Just follow me" He replied, he opened a cupboard at the end of the hall and pulled out a green bag, "Could you grab the other?"

"Sure" I replied and entered the cupboard I could hear footsteps coming down the hall that must Makoto-san's little brother and sister if I remember their called Ren-kun and Ran-chan.

A little girl with dark olive-green hair and a little boy with short brown hair came running in "Whatcha doing, big brother?" Ran-chan asked as she clung to his arm and Ren-kun jumped on top of his back

"Are you camping? I wanna come!" Ren-kun proclaimed I couldn't help but giggle the two of them are adorable!

"I've got a training camp with Haru and everyone else. Maybe some other time." He answered

"What? That's no fair!" They said in unison

"It's a promise!" The three of them turned to look at me, "We can all go camping with your big brother and the swim club! How does that sound?" I asked the pair's face lit up

"Really? Yay!" Ran-chan and Ren-kun shouted in unison, Makoto-san surprised expression turned to a smile and he mouthed "Thank you" to me for some reason I found a little blush creep onto my face and I smiled in return.

* * *

We lugged the heavy camping equipment outside and everyone gave us a hand taking it over to Haruka-san's house. From there we started to unpack everything making use of the large amount off space, "This is some serious equipment." Gou commented

"Our family always goes camping during the summer." Makoto-san explained

"Who gave you permission to use my place for storage?" Haruka-san asked

"But there's so much room here." Nagisa explained and Haruka-san began to sulk. Nagisa began to look at the book in his hand, "Are these all deserted islands?" as he stood up excitedly, "We could camp on a deserted island!"

"That's a bad idea." Ryugazaki-kun stated snatching the book away from Nagisa

"Let's have a barbecue on a deserted island!" Nagisa proclaimed

"Barbecue!" Gou joined

"You two really aren't giving up on this whole deserted island business, Nagisa-kun, Kou-chan?" I muttered

"Now we just need money for transportation." Makoto-san stated we all sighed in unison

"Do you think Miss Ama-chan has a boat?" Nagisa asked

"I seriously doubt it." Ryugazaki-kun answered and Makoto-san gasped

"I know someone with one!" Makoto-san declared and went to grab his cell phone his backpack, "Hello can I order one pizza please?" Whilst he was making this call we all realised who Makoto-san was talking about

* * *

Coach Goro arrived placing the pizza on the table and sitting down rubbing his hand on the back of his neck whilst we all stared at him intently waiting for his answer, "Yes, I have a squid fishing boat left by my grandpa. And I have a boating licence. However…" He opened his eyes, "You buy me one pizza and expect me to do you a favour like that?" He asked

"Please help us!" Makoto-san begged raising his hands above his head

"We'll also give you this!" Nagisa added holding out one of the Iwatobi mascots that Haruka-san had hand carved.

"I don't want that!" Goro-san retorted, "Oh, fine." He said finally giving up, "I can't participate in your camp, but I can take you there and back." He explained

"Really?!" Nagisa shouted banging his hands on the table

"Yeah! Yay!" We all shouted it was official we were having a training camp!

"I could use a little cruise." Goro-san admitted

"A cruise in a squid fishing boat?" Ryugazaki-kun contemplated

"Thank you so much!" Makoto-san thanked Goro-san again

"Sure" Goro-san answered

"You can have this!" Gou said trying to hand him the Iwatobi mascot

"I told you, I don't want that!" Goro-san yelled and I let out a giggle.

* * *

_Later that evening_

My parents were in the living room I had already called ahead to say that I had eaten and I had something to talk about, "I'm home" I announced

"Welcome home, Aki." Mom greeted her and Dad was sitting on the couch watching TV, "What did you want to talk to us about?"

I went to sit on the arm chair in our living room, "You see because its summer as a club we've thought it would be best to hold a training camp on a nearby island. We've arranged everything ourselves including transport, food and…"

"Accommodation." Dad finished, "You do have a place to stay, right?"

"Well, the guys are camping but I'm not sure what Kou-chan or Miss Ama-chan are doing for accommodation or if they're camping as well." I answered fidgeting with my fingers

My Dad sighed, "Why don't you call this Kou and see what she is planning to do but other than you can go."

I was ecstatic I stood up and hugged my parents, "Thank you so much! I'm gonna start packing!" as I ran upstairs.

"Just make sure you know where you're sleeping by the end of the night!" Dad yelled from the couch.

I reached my room and got a green sports bag out of one of my draws and placed it on the couch in my room I packed some cool clothes like t-shirts and shorts, a jacket, a swimsuit, pyjamas and toiletries. Maybe I should pack a deck of cards, a board game or a book to keep myself entertained…as I pondered over the topic my cell phone started to ring.

I got my cell phone out of my school bag and saw the caller ID as Gou, "Hello, Kou-chan what's up?" I answered

"Hi, Zaki-senpai we got permission of Miss Ama-chan and she said that she has arranged for the three of us to stay at a hotel on the island! Although we'll have to split the room price three ways she said to ask our parents" She stated

"So how much will it cost us each?" I pondered

"16,272 yen all together we would each have to pay 5424. The place we've found is great there's an indoor bath that is supposed to have a great view! Plus we'll have some time for girl talk." Gou stated

"I suppose but I kinda feel bad for the guys. I should tell my parents that I've got a place to sleep. Good night, Kou-chan."

"Night, Zaki-senpai." I hung up after that a few seconds later there was a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I shouted and my Dad popped his head around the door and came in.

"Just came to see how you were. So found a place?" He asked sitting on my bed.

"Now that you mention it, I just got a call then of Kou-chan saying that we got the all clear from Miss Ama-chan and she's found a hotel near the beach…we can split the price three ways." I answered walking over to sit next to him on my bed.

"So how much is my wallet gonna cry?" He asked

"By 5424 yen…" I placed my head on his shoulder

"At least it's for a night…" He sighed wrapping his arm around me and kissing the top of my head.

* * *

_Morning_

I had to wake up early that morning and got dressed into a sleeveless yellow hoodie dress with a white check pattern with a pair of sandals with white straps. I tied my hair up in my usual side braid, grabbed my bag off my sofa and made my way downstairs to be greeted to the smell of cooking. I placed my bag by the front door and headed for the kitchen, Mom and Dad were in the kitchen. "Morning Aki, I made you some toast to eat." Placing the plate of toast on the table.

"Thanks, Mom." I sat down and ate the two slices of toast I love how the two of them woke up early to see me off unlike a certain brother I know…

After I finished I headed for the front door grabbing my bag, "Have fun!" Mom said

"Make sure not to work too hard." My Dad advised, "I'm sure Lazy ass up there would probably say the same thing." And I giggled

"Well then, I'm off!" I waved and walked out the house heading towards the dock.

When I reached the dock all the First years were there all ready, Nagisa turned around "Ah, Zaki-chan! Over here!" Nagisa yelled waving at me.

"Good morning Nagisa-kun, Kou-chan, Ryugazaki-kun." I greeted

"Good morning, Zaki-senpai!" Gou replied

"Good morning, Aki-senpai." Ryugazaki-kun greeted me

"Oh!" Nagisa gasped, "Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Over here!" Nagisa waved and I turned around to see Haruka-san and Makoto-san approaching with the camping equipment and their bags.

"Good morning!" Gou greeted them

"Good morning." Makoto-san replied

"Morning." Haruka-san greeted

"We're still missing Miss Amakata." Ryugazaki-kun stated

"Huh?" I muttered and we all turned to see a small pink car speed right past us and from the car emerged Miss Ama-chan with a handbag and suitcase with a packed lunch on top.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." Miss Ama-chan apologised, "You must be Sasabe. Thank you for your help. " We were all surprised by Miss Ama-chan's grand entrance, "Please take this. It's nothing much but…" She said giving him the packed lunch that was on top of her suitcase

"Oh, thank you." Goro-san replied taking the lunch of Miss Ama-chan but then he narrowed his eyes looking more closely at her.

"Is something wrong?" She asked

"Oh, uh…" He leaned closer, "Have we met before?" he asked and Miss Ama-chan turned pale and looked slightly horrified

"No, we haven't!" She retorted, "This is the first time I've met you!"

"Is he trying to hit on her?" Gou muttered

"I don't know." I whispered

"Okay, let's set sail!" Goro-san shouted raising a flag with the message saying _Big Catch, Sasa, _"I'll fly our flag with a prayer for your training camp's success!" Goro-san stated as Makoto-san and I stared at the flag. The boat then began to move…

"Off we go to the deserted island!" Nagisa shouted standing at the head holding onto the flag pole.

"Full steam ahead!" Gou shouted

Haruka-san and Makoto-san were sitting at the back of the boat and I stood at the front next to Gou. Ryugazaki-kun ran to Nagisa pulling him back, "We're not going to a deserted island!" he shouted

"Now, now. Don't be so picky!" Nagisa responded

"I'm not being picky!" Ryugazaki-kun complained

* * *

_A couple of hours later…_

We had arrived at the island clear blue skies, lush green forest, a crystal clear sea and a peaceful beach. "This place is gorgeous!" Gou proclaimed

"I'm so glad I came!" Miss Ama-chan stated and I looked over my shoulder at Ryugazaki-kun his face looked pale and he looked like he was going to be sick

"Absolutely!" Gou and Miss Ama-chan were having their own conversation in the background

"Ryugazaki-kun, are you okay?" I asked bending down and placing my hand on his shoulder

"How's he holding up?" Makoto-san asked coming over to check on Ryugazaki-kun

"I'm okay…" He replied however he then stood up with his handkerchief to his mouth, "I need to go the restroom." And he ran off, I think he went off to vomit.

"Poor, Ryugazaki-kun…" I muttered

Meanwhile, Goro-san was unloading one last thing off his boat it looked like a cooler, "And here's a gift from me." He passed the cooler to Haruka-san and got back on his boat and prepared to set sail. As the boat started moving from the dock he stuck his head out the window, "Good luck! I'll be back for you on your last day!" He shouted

"Thank you very much!" We all shouted

"Is Rei okay?" Nagisa asked looking in the direction Ryugazaki-kun ran off to

Miss Ama-chan was reading through a guide of the island, "It seems there's a sports facility over there. It has a 50 meter pool. We could swim there." She suggested

"We don't have the money to go there." Makoto-san replied

"I'll go look for a good camping site." Miss Ama-chan stated

"Okay!" Gou replied kneeling in front of the cooler that Goro-san gave us, "So what was his gift?" she opened the lid

"Pizza?" I murmured bending down next to her.

"And this is…" quickly going to open the next one

"Mackerel." Haruka-san answered

"You like mackerel way too much." Gou sighed

"What do you expect it's Haruka-san…" I murmured

"Hey…" We looked up to see Ryugazaki-kun out of breath, "Come over here!" pointing in the direction he came from

* * *

We followed Ryugazaki-kun to a sports centre where we headed to a window that showed the indoor pool. In there was the Samezuka swim team we could hear shouting and instructions.

"Why is Samezuka's swim team here?" Makoto-san asked

"Oh, Rin-chan's here." Nagisa stated

"Did you do something again, Gou?" Makoto-san asked and everyone turned in her direction

"Huh? I didn't know anything this time." She answered waving her hands

"Really?" Nagisa asked

"I mean, it's obvious that my brother wouldn't listen to anything I say. Plus…" She trailed off she looked in Haruka-san's direction, is Gou referring to that time at the shop between Haruka-san and Makoto-san…

"Plus?" Nagisa pondered

"No, it's nothing." She smiled

"So it's just a coincidence. We should go and say hello then." Nagisa suggested.

"Don't." Haruka-san bluntly said

"Huh? Why not?" Nagisa asked

"I promised him that we would meet at prefecturals." He answered

"What? Really?" Nagisa was surprised and initially Makoto-san looked surprised but then his expression turned to a smile.

"Anyways we should probably head off; I think if Rin-san saw us he'd probably be annoyed." I suggested

"Zaki-chan's probably right, let's go." Makoto-san added and we all headed off.

When we got back to the beach the guys began to pitch their tents, "I wanna swim in a 50 meter pool." Nagisa complained.

"I guess powerhouse schools do get special treatment." Miss Ama-chan stated

"They're clearly in a different class." Ryugazaki-kun sighed

"Doesn't matter." Haruka-san said

"Haru's right." Makoto-san added, "Our goal for this training camp is to build stamina."

"Right, we still have our deserted islands!" Nagisa cheered

"Are you comparing 50 meter pools to deserted islands?" Ryugazaki-kun asked

"Aren't they similar?" Nagisa replied

"How are they similar?!" Ryugazaki-kun retorted

"Okay, then." Miss Ama-chan interrupted picking up her bag, "Let's go check in at the lodge." She turned to Gou and me.

"Yes." Gou replied

"Lodge?" The guys said in unison and rushed over to us.

"What do you mean?" Ryugazaki-kun asked

"We booked lodging for ourselves." Miss Ama-chan explained, "Over there." Pointing over at the rows of hotels

"What?!" they said in unison

"You can't expect a couple of girls to sleep outside. Right, Gou, Aki?" She asked

"Right?" Gou replied

"Traitors! Zaki-chan I thought you of all people would camp outside!" Nagisa shouted

"Sorry, guys!" I apologised

"Class difference again…" Ryugazaki-kun muttered

"We're on the bottom?" Nagisa pondered

* * *

We had checked in and came into our room. It was a traditional inn when we opened the door there was a table with three cushions, we removed our shoes at the door and placed them to one side. Gou and I placed our bags down on the wooden flooring and Miss Ama-chan sat down removing her hat and reading through the island guide, "This is a lovely place." Miss Ama-chan commented, "They offer rock bathing nearby. And this says they offer a seasonal facial treatment in summer." Gou walked over to the window and looked a little sad and I walked over to see two boys from Samezuka walking past with shopping bags. Miss Ama-chan kept talking in the background about the different spa treatments.

Gou and I changed into swimsuits. Gou wore a orange and peach stripy one piece swimsuit with a blue jacket over it whilst I chose to wear a cyan and grey bikini with a black stripe in the middle. I wore a purple ¾ jacket over it. Miss Ama-chan didn't change and we all made our way down to the beach. Gou bought a camera with her and I brought a notebook and a pair of binoculars with me in case they wanted me to record any times and to watch them in the water.

By the time we got there the guys were all in the water their target today was to complete 3 circuits and Ryugazaki-kun has a slightly different regime because he is a beginner. I looked through the binoculars to see where they were in the water and Miss Ama-chan bought a pair of her own. Gou was taking pictures.

* * *

_A couple of hours later…_

The guys had completed their target of completing three circuits. Gou and I had gotten changed I wore a sleeveless orange dress with my jacket and matching orange pumps. We got the towels ready for the guys we turned around seeing the guys walking up, Gou headed over to Nagisa and Ryugazaki-kun handing them towels. "Good work." I said handing Makoto-san and Haruka-san towels.

"Thanks." Makoto-san replied taking the towel off me.

"Was the training regimen from hell too hard after all? You guys only completed half of it." I commented

"Well, it's the first day." Makoto-san added

"I-I'll do better tomorrow!" Ryugazaki-kun proclaimed

"You'll do fine, Rei-chan." Nagisa assured him

"I'll catch up in no time!" he declared

"That's the spirit." Makoto-san encouraged

"Hey. That's enough performance reviews for now. Let's eat before it gets dark." Miss Ama-chan shouted placing two plastic bags on the picnic table. We all walked over to the table.

"I'm starving!" Nagisa stated

"Oh, no." Miss Ama-chan muttered, "I forgot to buy seasoning." As she rummaged through the bag

"What?!" Nagisa cried

"I'll go borrow some from the lodge." I offered and I handed Gou my notebook and headed off

"Thank you." Miss Ama-chan shouted

* * *

I headed to the lodge first however they didn't have any seasoning they could lend because it was dinner time. So the next best place was probably the convenience store so I ran there as I reached the door I bumped into someone making their way out. I jumped back, "Sorry!" I apologised but then I recognised him…

He was a first year from Samezuka, I think his name was Nitori…

"You're the girl from…" he muttered

"What's wrong?" Another voice coming out the store, it was Rin-san

"Rin-san!" I gasped

"Yazaki-san?" He replied, "Nitori, you head back." He instructed

"Oh, okay." He replied and ran off, Rin-san then turned his attention back to me

"Follow me." As he walked over to the benches and I followed

"So, did Gou set this up?" he asked as soon as I sat down

"It's not what you're thinking." I replied

"It's not?" He asked, "Haru and the rest of them are here, right?"

"They are." I answered, "But, it's purely coincidence. We happen to be here for a training camp."

"Training camp?" he repeated, "We're using the pool. Where are they swimming?" He pointed out

"The ocean." I answered however Rin-san's expression turned to surprise

"Makoto's okay with that?" He asked

"Huh? What do you mean, Rin-san?" I asked he then gasped from my question

"Forget it. Never mind." He replied, "Are they completing their regimen?" he asked turning his face away from me

"Yes. Well they only finished half of it today." I let out a little giggle

"What?" He asked

"Nothing." I answered, "It's just…you sound like you still worry about them."

"I'm not." He retorted

"But you promised to meet them at prefecturals?" I asked

"I didn't do it to see them." He responded, "I'm going to beat Haru. That's all I care about." Rin-san declared standing up from the bench and beginning to walk away.

"Yazaki-san?" I looked over in his direction

"Yes?" I asked

"Can you keep an eye on Gou for me?" He asked

I was surprised by his question, "Of course!" I replied with a smile, you probably don't want to admit Rin-san but you really are a good big brother and I watched him walk off back to his lodging.

I stood up to go buy the seasoning from the convenience store.

* * *

I came back to hear Nagisa shouting, "Pineapple and hokke!" presenting a pizza with those toppings.

"Mackerel and pineapple." Haru stated presenting his pizza

"What?" Gou asked with everyone looking in disgust at Nagisa and Haruka-san's creations.

"Pineapple's the one topping I'll never put on pizza." Miss Ama-chan stated

"Really? I like pineapple on pizza personally but it's an acquired taste I think." I added

"I hate green peas in dumplings!" Gou added

We all continued to eat our pizza before it went dark and I think Makoto-san helped cheer Ryugazaki-kun up.

The guys were getting ready to go to sleep, "Then Haru and I will be in this tent." Makoto-san pointed at the orange tent

"What? I wanna sleep with Haru." Nagisa cried

"You don't want to be in a tent with me?" Ryugazaki-kun asked sounding offended

"Well, you probably grind your teeth when you sleep." Nagisa answered

"I don't do that!" Ryugazaki-kun retorted

"We can use a ladder lottery to decide." Makoto-san suggested

"I'm in!" Nagisa cheered

Miss Ama-chan, Gou and I watched the guys draw in the sand to see who would share tents with whom, "Let's head back to the lodge." Miss Ama-chan suggested

"Oh, yes." Gou replied

"Yes, lets." I answered and Gou followed Miss Ama-chan as she walked back to the lodge. I looked back at the guys, "Why isn't Rin-san with them?" I pondered

"Zaki-senpai! What's wrong?" Gou asked, waiting for me

I shook my head and ran to catch up with Gou and Miss Ama-chan.

* * *

_Sorry for the late update, well we had a Rin x Aki moment there...What will happen in the next chapter?_


	8. Shocking No Breathing!

_**Free –**__**High** __**Speed! Reunion**_

_**Chapter 8: Shocking No Breathing!**_

The moment we returned to the lodge Miss Ama-chan went off for a massage using the coupons she got earlier today. Leaving just me and Gou we decided to try out the baths here since they are supposed to have a great view.

As we were getting our stuff ready the phone in our room began to ring I went over to answer it, "Hello?" I answered.

"Ah, hello Miss I am just calling to inform that because of the stormy weather forecast for later today the outdoor bath will not be available for use. I hope you understand." A lady at the front desk was calling to inform all the guests of this information.

"Okay, thank you for letting us know." I hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Gou asked folding one of the kimonos that came with our room.

"It was just a clerk at the front desk saying we can't use the outdoor hot spring." I answered.

"Huh? Why not?" Gou cried

"Apparently there's supposed to be stormy weather later." I answered

"Stormy weather?" She repeated

"Hey, do you think the guys will be okay?" I asked

"They'll be fine! You worry too much! C'mon even if we can't enjoy the outdoor hot spring we can at least enjoy the view from the indoor bath whilst the weather's still clear!" Gou stated

"I guess you're right…" I murmured but there was still a little part of me that was worried.

* * *

Once we reached the bath changing rooms I got my towel ready and placed my hair in a bun. I had gotten changed first so I went on ahead of Gou. I opened the door to find that surprisingly it was empty I guess other guests would have preferred the outdoor hot spring. The walls were made of wood and the room was quite big in the centre of the room was the bath and in front of it was a plain glass window that revealed the outdoor bath and the clear night sky…I know they're trying to be careful but I hope we can use the outdoor hot spring at some point. I climbed into the bath and made my way to the far end so I could look out the window and I leaned against the side, "This feels so good~" I whispered

"Is the water good, Zaki-senpai?" I turned to see Gou entering holding her towel to her chest and she had tied her hair up into two buns.

"Yep! Hurry up and get in, Kou-chan!" I answered

"Okay, okay!" she replied and entered the bath so she was facing me and I turned around but then all of a sudden she gasped.

"Huh? What's wrong, Kou-chan?" I asked

"Zaki-senpai…hidden…" She muttered

"Hidden what?" I asked

"Hidden melons!" She shouted and I couldn't help but turn red not because of the bath

"What are you saying, Kou-chan?! Besides you should shout we're in the indoor bath someone could hear us!" I stuttered out, "Besides, I thought mine was average I mean they're just a C-cup…" I explained

"Well compared to mine…" Gou sunk down up to her nose and she kept staring at me…I couldn't help but feel self-conscious and moved my arms in front of them.

"Kou-chan could you please stop staring!" I begged

She then rose up and her hands rose in the air in a squeezing motion, "At least let me feel them…" she requested

"Huh?" I gasped covering my chest and shifting away from her, "Kou-chan don't! Stay away!" I screamed

It was all a blur after that…I think I overheated from the bath or the embarrassment…

* * *

After getting out the bath I changed into the blue kimono provided the lodge and pulled my hair out of the bun and brushed it through before I dried it. Gou was getting changed behind me, "Hey, Zaki-senpai…" She muttered

"What's up?" I asked turning to look at…

"If you don't mind me asking…how did you first meet, Haruka-senpai?" She asked

I was slightly taken aback by her question and curious as to why she wanted to know but… "Sure, I'll tell you when we get back to our room." I answered and I turned to face the mirror again.

* * *

Once we got back to our room we sat down on opposite sides of the table with tea, "I had been in the swim club with my older brother before Haruka-san and Makoto-san joined." I started, "I had always loved swimming since I was younger I used to hear stories about my Dad's swimming days before his accident…"

"Accident?" Gou repeated

"Back in high school my father used to be part of the swimming team in fact even after that he still swam." I explained, "In my father's second year of high school, he was involved in a traffic accident that cost him his leg…" Gou gasped and looked slightly saddened

"However, he got a prosthetic leg and he managed to swim for the remainder of his high school days but he used to say that he wouldn't have gotten through it all if it wasn't for my mom and his best friend… I think he said his name was Toraichi." I gasped slightly, "Sorry, I'm sure you don't want to listen to this! I'll get back on topic!"

Gou shook her head, "It's okay, I'm surprised you never told anyone." She answered

"Prosthetic leg or not, it doesn't change who my dad is!" I cheered, "Anyway, at school I was in the same class as them as well, I talked to Makoto-san every now and then but Haruka-san usually kept to himself…" I continued to explain. "It wasn't until one windy winter's day that Haruka-san and I properly talked to each other…"

* * *

_5 years ago…_

I was riding my bike on my way to the swim club from school using Mutsuki Bridge that goes over Shiwagawa River however it was rather windy that day and my scarf that I had gotten for my birthday fell into river. I sat by the edge of the bridge trying to think of ways I could retrieve my scarf but then someone was coming with their bike. It was Haruka-san and I called out to him, "Ah, Nanase-kun."

"Hey. What's wrong?" as he gripped his brakes in front of me

"Um, my scarf…" I lowered my gaze to the river; I could still see my scarf drifting along in the flow. I couldn't reach my scarf no matter which way I thought of reaching I'd probably end up falling in…

"It's impossible. You'll have to give up." Nanase-kun said bluntly

"Yeah…" I muttered, I know it was impossible but that scarf is precious to me…so I can't give up!

"I'm going on ahead." Nanase-kun stated and before I could even respond his pedals were in motion going to the swim club…what should I do? Should I go to swim club or stay here and try to retrieve my scarf?

* * *

_Present…_

"So Haruka-senpai, just left you there!" Gou shouted, "What a jerk!"

I raised my hands, "Calm down and listen to the rest of the story!"

* * *

_5 years ago…_

In the end I skipped swimming club for that day, my scarf sank a little while after Nanase-kun left that's when I knew I had to give up. There was no point in me going to swim club by this point so I went home and told my mother my scarf was in my bag when she asked where it was.

The next morning, I left slightly earlier than normal riding towards the bridge with part of me hoping there was still some trace left of my scarf. That's when I saw a figure on their bike, "Good morning, Nanase-kun." I greeted him

He turned around as if startled by my sudden greeting, "Hey." He replied

I'm sorry about yesterday. For making you worry like that." I apologised

"What happened to your scarf?" he asked

I smiled, "It sank a little after you left, Nanase-kun. After that I was able to give up. I think if it had kept floating, I might have kept watching it forever." And I ended up laughing again after I stopped laughing though I looked at his face and it was slightly red, "What's wrong, Nanase-kun? Your face looks kind of red." I peered slightly at his face taking a closer look

"It's nothing. It's normal." He answered

"Are you sure you don't have a fever?" I asked slightly concerned and I tried to touch his cheek to see if he was hot or not but he instinctively pushed my hand away. We were face-to-face and it felt as though time had stopped for a second. With my other hand, I held the one that Nanase-kun had pushed away. I was surprised, why did he do that?

"Ah…sorry." He apologised. If he didn't want to be touched then he could have moved his neck to avoid it or lightly blocked my hand with his own. Honestly pushing me away was slightly mean.

"Oh, no, I'm the one that should be sorry." I replied

The conversation had ended there and we continued to head towards school keeping our heads down and not looking at each other once…

* * *

That morning our homeroom theme was "Creating Memories for Graduation." All of the classes had been brought together to contribute ideas and then those ideas were narrowed down to just one. Once it had been decided that all of the graduating students would work on it together, there were many varied opinions, even just within our class.

Things that could be done quickly, things that were impossible to realize, laughable things, things that leaned heavily toward certain hobbies. Then, when it seemed that all of the ideas had just about run out, my hand went up.

"Um, I've been thinking this for a while now, but the only flowers that bloom around this school are from the cherry tree, right? In the spring there will be lots of flowers, but right now it seems sort of lonely…" I began to explain

Between the school building and the pool stood a large cherry tree. There was no other tree as imposing to be found in the area. It had an overwhelming presence that didn't let anything come near; the trees, the grass and the flowers all stayed away as if daunted by it.

"So I was thinking, what if we planted a flower bed around the cherry tree? I thought it would be wonderful if there were lots of bright-coloured flowers blooming happily with the cherry tree in the spring." I finished

"I'm in favor of planting a flower bed, too." The one, who spoke, advancing my idea, was Tachibana-kun. "I think it would be nice if we planted flowers that would bloom right around the time we all graduate."

My idea had general support; and so the class voted overwhelmingly in favour of the flower bed.

After homeroom the day seemed to fly by but I couldn't help but be worried about Nanase-kun and I think even Tachibana-kun noticed as well.

* * *

On my way home from school I rode my bike over the bridge as usual but then something or someone caught my eye. It was Nanase-kun down by the bank, is he okay? Maybe he really does have a fever! I gripped my brakes and Nanase-kun turned around to look at me, "What's wrong, Nanase-kun?" I asked

But he stretched his back and contained his breathing it looked as though he couldn't say anything at all; I looked past him and saw something white floating up on the surface, "Ah!" I gasped

"I'll go get it now." Nanase-kun stated

"You don't have to, it's too dangerous!" I replied plus I don't think he is in any condition to be going into the water especially if he has a fever. But, he turned his back to me…

He was about to step onto the riverbank when all of a sudden his feet rose from the ground and he was tumbling towards the embankment and he fell in…I ran towards him "Nanase-kun! Nanase-kun!" I screamed his right hand had gripped the dry grass of the bank whilst his left was clutching onto my scarf…

"Haru! Haru!" I turned to see Tachibana-kun and Matsuoka-kun running towards us… they hauled Nanase-kun onto the bank.

"I'll go call an ambulance!" I stated and I ran towards the nearest payphone, I called an ambulance, the swim club and Nanase-kun's house. Then I ran back to the three of them and waited until the ambulance came…Tachibana-kun said he and Matsuoka-kun would go with Nanase-kun to the hospital but Tachibana-kun gave me my scarf…I couldn't help but worry and think was this my fault?

* * *

_Present…_

"Even after that day…I still continued to wear that scarf. After all it was a precious present but it was filled with memories as well!" I smiled

"Zaki-senpai, thank you for sharing that with me." Gou said then the door opened and Miss Ama-chan came in wearing her kimono from the lodge.

"Oh, the two of you are still awake?" She asked and closed the door over.

"Actually, we were about to go to sleep. Right, Kou-chan?" I asked

"Oh, yes!" She replied

"Great! Then let's set up the futons!" Miss Ama-chan suggested and we set up three futons. Miss Ama-chan took the one on the right, Gou was in the middle and I was on the left. I drew the curtains and noticed that the wind began to howl…I hope the guys are okay.

Gou turned the light off, "C'mon, Zaki-senpai." She gestured me to go over to the futon.

"All right, I'm coming." I replied as I lied down on the futon pulling the sheets over myself, "Good night, Kou-chan. Good night, Miss Ama-chan."

"Good night, Zaki-senpai. Good night, Miss Ama-chan." Gou murmured

"Good night, you two." Miss Ama-chan murmured as well all fell asleep.

* * *

_The next morning…_

After waking up and getting dressed, we decided that we would make breakfast with the guys so we made our way down to the beach. Hopefully they had a good night's sleep considering the stormy weather last night.

When we got to the beach we found them asleep on the sand, "Oh dear…" Miss Ama-chan murmured

"What are you guys doing?" Gou asked, "Hung out to dry overnight? Okay, okay. Time to start practise!" Gou shouted

"No good! I think they're out like lights." I stated and Gou and I ran over to them to see if they were okay.

"Wake up!" Gou shouted

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I used this translation: __ . to help write the chapter so if you want to check it out! Have a nice day or night wherever you are!_


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